TerryJ2
Well-Known Member
I found this on the John Rosemond site. It's by a mom who wrote in to him with-her solution to messy kids' rooms. It's funny.
As with-anything, the point is to be consistent, and she clearly is.
(I edited it just to the point where she starts talking.)
____
As I cheerfully went around cleaning up papers and trash, she wrote, putting books on the shelf and throwing out stuff I found laying around, I remembered how I had once nagged, begged, yelled, and generally harassed my kids to do things around the house. One day something clicked and I decided to stop fighting the same battle over and over and over again.
I started a service in our home called Moms Helping Hands. I made business cards on our home computer that listed the services I offerroom cleaning, chore finishing, picking up, kindling removal (one of our daughters stuffs paper into every available nook and cranny), and reminders. My motto, also printed on the cards, is So convenient you dont even have to call! When I perform a service on behalf of one of the kids, I simply leave my card behind to indicate that I expect to be paid.
Needless to say, the kids hate it, but not enough to never need my services. Of course, the price is often more than they were planning on paying (loss of one or more privileges, usually), to which I simply point out that you can't have your cake and eat it too. Our home stays neater and quieter, and instead of high blood pressure I now get a chuckle out of helping the kids with their responsibilities.
As with-anything, the point is to be consistent, and she clearly is.
(I edited it just to the point where she starts talking.)
____
As I cheerfully went around cleaning up papers and trash, she wrote, putting books on the shelf and throwing out stuff I found laying around, I remembered how I had once nagged, begged, yelled, and generally harassed my kids to do things around the house. One day something clicked and I decided to stop fighting the same battle over and over and over again.
I started a service in our home called Moms Helping Hands. I made business cards on our home computer that listed the services I offerroom cleaning, chore finishing, picking up, kindling removal (one of our daughters stuffs paper into every available nook and cranny), and reminders. My motto, also printed on the cards, is So convenient you dont even have to call! When I perform a service on behalf of one of the kids, I simply leave my card behind to indicate that I expect to be paid.
Needless to say, the kids hate it, but not enough to never need my services. Of course, the price is often more than they were planning on paying (loss of one or more privileges, usually), to which I simply point out that you can't have your cake and eat it too. Our home stays neater and quieter, and instead of high blood pressure I now get a chuckle out of helping the kids with their responsibilities.