Chores?

It's snowing!!!! Crazy! I looked out my window as I was cleaning up the dinner dishes, and the snow was coming down! It looks beautiful, but it's March! I need some sunshine!

I came home today to a very clean house; I think it may have to do a bit with a big discussion that we had in our house! When I walked in the door yesterday, the house was a disaster. Dinner still needed to be prepared, the kids hadn't started on their homework, we needed to go out to soccer and I needed to get some laundry done. There were backpacks, shoes and clothes from one end of the house to the next. The kids were all laying around playing video games or on their Ipods. As I started to prepare dinner, I had all the kids sit at the kitchen table to start their homework. Since I had all of their attention, I brought up the subject of chores. The kids usually have chores that they need to do everyday, but for some reason, decided not to do them yesterday. I explained to them that as a family, everyone needs to pitch in and help. I explained that it is impossible for Matt and I to do everything and in order for the house to run smoothly, they needed to do their part. There first reaction was to complain! Of course, the response was , none of my friends have to do chores. I very quickly let them know that I am not concerned about what activities their friends do or don't do, but am concerned about my own children's activities. After a few more comments and attempts at arguing, they stopped and listened to what I had to say. After explaining the roles that every family member has in contributing the household, they seemed to get it. They all helped with the clean up after dinner and offered to help with some of the laundry. They must have remembered our discussion, as the house is clean today!

As a working parent, it can be very overwhelming to walk into the house after working all day, and see utter chaos and mess. I don't expect my home to be spotless, but I do expect a bit of help and for the kids to take a bit of responsibility for cleaning up after themselves. Since going back to work full-time, I think it has forced me to be more assertive in the expectations that I have for my children. In turn, it has given them the opportunity to be more responsible and for them to see how working together can make a huge difference! It has provided them the opportunity to actively participate in the runnings of daily life. I hope their enthusiasm for cleaning continues and that they see the difference that it makes. Just 15 minutes a day of chores, allows me to have more time to spend with them, which in the end, is the ultimate goal! Thanks kids!