Thursday, September 20, 2012

Let's see if I can benefit from my kids' avarice

For a couple of weeks now, I've been at that point in pregnancy where it's almost impossible to get anything done, because I have to sit down and rest.  So cleaning the kitchen goes something like this:

  • sweep, 10 minutes
  • rest, 15 minutes
  • wipe down counters and stove, 5 minutes (small kitchen)
  • rest, 10 minutes
  • mop, 10 minutes
  • rest, 30 minutes
This doesn't account for stopping to run an inquisitive toddler out of the room, to the potty, etc.  So what should be maybe a half-hour's work winds up being a lot longer, and then I'm flattened for much of the rest of the day.  It's...inefficient.

Enter Capitalism, which I am told will make all our lives better.  The kids don't get a regular allowance right now.  (They do have chores, which I refuse to tie wholesale to allowance because the chores are things you do because you're part of the family.)  Like all kids, mine like to have their own money & the opportunity to earn it.

I don't have my camera handy to take a picture, but I just made up a sign that looks a lot like this:

Ways to Earn Money!
$1 for:
Sweeping and mopping
  • kitchen
  • dining room
  • living room
  • bathroom & hallway
  • your bedroom
Scrubbing tub or toilet or kitchen sink

50¢ for:
washing pots & pans (doing the regular dishes is part of their chores, but this Erik or I typically do)
washing off dining room table
reading Marie or Esther a book/story
practicing "to, with, and by" reading with Esther
picking up trash around the can (like most kids, they throw stuff at it)

25¢ for:
helping Esther do any dollar job without yelling at her

10¢ for: 
helping Esther do any 50¢ job without yelling at her

Always ask if there's a special job!

Of course, I'm going to be doing this stuff as much as I can anyway; one of my main goals here is to turn the kids into the help I will need when the baby comes.  There'll be at least a few days when I won't be able to do this stuff by myself, & I'm hoping I'll have greater cooperation if they know they can get paid to help out.

Maybe I should add a small daily payout for doing their chores without whining...

2 comments:

John A said...

Sounds like a plan.

One possible problem: when yyou feel able to resume these, how willm the kids react to loss of income? Or, keep it in place and take up another form of exercise?

Dave said...

Ah ha! This is just a ploy to raise the administrations employment numbers!