some things I've learned about parenting lately

I feel like my parenting is something that I'm constantly reevaluating. Not being a parent, but how I parent. The kids get older, get wiser, get immune to certain rewards/punishments, change their schedules, host visitors, come in contact with new people or situations, etc. Things that worked last week don't always work this week. It's hard because I'll think that I have one little thing finally under control and then it changes.

One aspect of parenting that I've tried to change lately is how we approach our responsibilities in our home. The kids have always had "chores," but I'm coming to believe that those chores weren't really teaching them much about how a home runs. Of course, we have to make our beds and put away our clothes. That's kinda a no brainer. It's like flushing the toilet - common sense. I don't really think that's teaching them all that I can be teaching them. And really, one of my largest goals is to raise children who can leave my home as young adults and replicate the spirit and organization they grew up with. I know it's a grand goal, but I believe in setting high expectations for myself and my family.

So, what to do? If you've talked to me at all in the past month, you know that I've been reading a lot about one family in particular and how they manage their home. One of the things they do that I really keyed in on was giving each child a set of chores. Nothing radical about that, right? But the chores were the kind of things that I usually do, not my kids. If I gave some of my chores away to the kids, I could focus on things that they really couldn't do themselves yet or let's be honest, do well enough to please me.


I looked around at the things that slow us down in the morning and what keeps us kinda rushed each day before Sunshine leaves for school. Brushing their teeth always slows us down. I go in the bathroom, take out the stools, put on the toothpaste, turn on the water, etc. Also, one of my problems, and this is my own OCD issue, is that I can't leave the house with gunk on the sinks. It totally freaks me out. So I have to clean out the sink and put away the stools before we leave. Well, now each morning, Buddy goes to take out the stools and turn on the light. Sunshine puts the toothpaste on. Buddy puts away the stools. Sunshine takes a wet rag and wipes down the sink, lifts up the canisters on the counter, and wipes there, too. They repeat this exercise at night. It gives me time to do something else for 2 minutes, which doesn't seem like a huge deal, but it is for me.

We've been doing that for two weeks now and it works out soooooooo well. The kids feel really responsible. Buddy is so jazzed that he's in charge of something exciting like stools. I can't tell you how pleased Sunshine is that she's a part of something like this. Just yesterday she said, "Uh, Mom, we're running low on washclothes in the bathroom. Can I help you sort the laundry so that I can fill up that drawer?" See! Something that would have never crossed her mind before.

So, now I'm on the lookout for more chores like that. I want to introduce a new aspect of home management to them each month. Any suggestions of little itty bitty things they could do? We're not starting a work farm =)

And now, one more photo for my sister, who gets mad when I post and there are no photos of children.