Last year, we began a new birthday tradition: On the morning of their birthday, the birthday kid is presented with an envelope, which contains 1 new privilege and 1 new responsibility.
When Ryan turned six, we began giving him $1/week allowance. His new responsibility was to tidy the bathroom each night and clean the mirror and sink thoroughly on Saturdays. He gladly took on the new chore since it was accompanied by a new allowance!
This year, Mike didn't feel that it was appropriate to give him more allowance, since he hardly spends what he has as it is now. He suggested pushing his bedtime back by 30 minutes.
Ryan was thrilled. THRILLED. Especially since he's had the same bedtime as his baby sister his whole life. (granted, she still naps every other day or so, but still) This was a bit of a bitter pill for Kaylin to swallow, but she is only four years old, after all. I settled on the fact that on the days that she actually sleeps during her quiet time, she can go to bed at the same time as Ryan, but if she doesn't nap, she goes to bed at her normal bedtime. This will keep her from coming out of her room a dozen times on the days she sleeps. Yay for a win:win!
The new responsibility we gave Ryan this year was to load the dishwasher. He's been unloading it for some time now, so he knows where things go to make this "puzzle" of a task fit the most dishes possible. Plus, he's finally tall enough to reach inside the sink without a step stool.
When he saw his new chore, he blushed as he said, "Oh, alright...!" I could tell that he wanted to seem annoyed, but was excited. This kid loves responsibilities. So, from now on, he'll load the breakfast and lunch dishes and Mike will continue to do dinner. I think I'll give Kaylin the new responsibility of unloading the whole dishwasher (not just the silverware) on her upcoming 5th birthday. That will give Ryan a bit of a break from constant dishes.
Hmmm...I might be on to something: At this rate, by the time the kids are in high school, I won't have to lift a finger around here! HA!
Hmmm...I might be on to something: At this rate, by the time the kids are in high school, I won't have to lift a finger around here! HA!
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4 comments:
Katie I love this idea and how you present it to them. The bedtime one is especially a good one for Ryan. Is there a different chore that you think he would have liked better so it's not all about the dishes? Thanks for always sharing your ideas with us.
I love the presentation. It almost makes it fun to get new chores. Ha ha.
Do they actually fall asleep at that time or do it take them a while? My daughter had a 8pm bedtime but it's around 9pm for the summer she will be 4 in August. She doesn't nap anymore either but if she does fall asleep like in the car or somthing it takes forever for her to fall asleep at night.
I think this is a great idea - it makes responsibility and privileges more important than the material gifts which is SO good for them to learn.
Mary
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