What a Chore

A few weeks ago, I realized that my children were not nearly the responsible, well-behaved members of society I wanted them to be (also, my house looked like a train wreck), so I decided to do something about both issues.

I made chore charts.  You can see them on the wall behind my sweet ever-so-lovely children here:

In case you are wondering, their chores are simple and age-appropriate.  Things like "Make your bed," "Pick up your room," "Get dressed," and, for Maggie, "Be happy" and "Sing a song" (two things she's really good at).

The rules were simple, as well--no friends, TV, or outside play until chores are done.  

We do chores every day, folks--but every single morning, it's like this huge surprise for my kids.

"Whaaaaaat?!?!  I have to clean my WHOLE rooooooom?!?!!"  They're shocked.  Flabbergasted. Appalled that I would willingly FORCE my beloved offspring to do something so terrible and horrible as pick up some dirty clothes and put their toys away.

Gasp.

Granted, they have a habit of getting up early and trashing their room before I wake up (along with going through the kitchen and coming up with delicacies like the one you see before you--Jack came up with the idea of two raisin-cinnamon bagels with a slice of bologna in the middle.  Yum), so their chores are much harder than they would be should my children decide to keep their room somewhat decent.  

Not only that, but when I do send them to their room while I try to accomplish something (usually my own chores), guaranteed that when I enter the room to check on them, one or both of them will be doing something like this:

Playing.  Getting distracted.  Beating on each other is yet another favorite activity of theirs.

Most days, doing the chores consists of me getting after them while doing my own chores (usually kitchen/laundry/bathrooms), after which I go in and sit in their room and say things like "Pick up that shirt.  Now put it away.  Okay, pick up that car.  Now put it away." while my children moan and cry and basically give a great impression of what torture victims would probably sound like.

It's great.  Exactly how I love to spend every week day (weekends are "free days").

I've read the blogs out there about parents who minimize their children's toys--they have one or two little boxes of toys that they play with and the rest they donate to thrift stores/yard sales/throw away.

That idea is sounding better and better every day....Problem is I feel like minimizing my kids' toys is nearly a full-time job in itself.  I've donated to thrift stores, had a yard sale a few weeks ago, and thrown away enough broken toys to keep an Ethiopian orphanage happy for weeks, and STILL...my kids each have three BIG boxes of toys in their rooms and our garage has shelves full of boxes of toys that my kids aren't allowed to have in their rooms until they show me they can keep their room clean for a week straight.

It hasn't happened yet.

For the record: Maggie is VERY good at her chores.

It's nice having a naturally organized and obedient child.  Just wish my two-year-old wasn't the only one I could count on to actually help me clean sometimes.

How about you?  Are chores a full-on battle in your house?