This afternoon I called a family meeting around the dining room table
Poor D4 wanted to sit right next to me
I suppose I should hold these meetings more often
He wasnt sure what was up
It all began before he got home
I was sick of the dishes piling up the bench
B14 was suppose to be doing them
until he decided he would cook again
in my house one person cooks
the other does the dishes - we do have a dishwasher
I got angry!!!
then I looked at the wall chore list and decided I had let it slip somewhat recently
So I sat down and reassessed the chores
B14 had a problem with the fact that D4 didnt seem to be doing much
I pointed out that he is only 4
Once I had rewritten the house rules, chores and consequences
I picked D4 up from kindy
Then we had our meeting
Since then I have noticed B14 is being a bit behaved and helpful
He seems to like the boundaries
He knows I mean it when I say to do something - if he doesnt - he will lose something from his room
We have decided to get those dishes sorted together
He does after all have a sore foot
He knows Im sick of looking at them
I am willing to help to compensate for his sore foot
D4s chores are to pick up his toys before bed, help unload the groceries on a Thursday, take his dirty clothes to the laundry, make his bed with my help and wipe my messes he makes
B14s chores are help unload the groceries on a Thursday, looking after his cat, take out the rubbish and take down to the road for collection, cook dinner, clean kitchen counters and sink after cooking the dinner, bring the washing in, wipe out the fridge and tidy rooms on a Saturday morning.
I will help unload the groceries on a Thursday and put them away, do the laundry, load dishwasher, empty it and put the dishes away, wash the pots and pans (and hope B14 doesnt create too many when cooking), fold the washing and put clothes away, hang out the washing, clean the bathroom and loo, vacuum the house after B14 has cleaned the rooms on a Saturday morning.
5 comments:
It sounds like a good division of chores Jen and I'm sure D4 will enjoy oing grown up things.
P.S can B14 come do my dishes too?? I'm also sick of the sight of them ;)
When the chores start to slip it's a sure sign they need reassessing! Good on you for sorting it so calmly :)
Good idea Jen. So, B14 is now back to cooking dinner again! Excellent. You can't just stop doing a job every time you have a mishap.
Also, although D4 IS only 4, it's good to include him in doing little chores. He will enjoy being treated as a BIG boy, Billy will see it as fairer and also it is trainig D4 to accept helping out as he gets older and showing him how to tackle little jobs. All part of his education.
I have to stick to being accountable and D4 does do some of these things already its just a matter of having it written out in clear terms
Meg he didnt have a lot of choice
it was either cook dinner or do the dishes
I think that's fair distribution of work based on everyone's capability. All the best, Jen!
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