Daily Archives: April 1, 2009
WFMW in Reverse
Typically Works for Me Wednesday encourages me to post something very helpful, something I’ve found that works. This week it’s running in reverse. I get to ask YOU for help with something! I like this much better because I’m confident all of you know way more than I do. I just talk more. So here’s my question:
How do you get your kids to clean their rooms and take proper care of their things?
I know, I know it’s the never-answered question, but I need help! Our general rule is that you must put away one thing before pulling out another. This is not to say you can’t play with more than one thing at a time IF you are actually playing with it. But it is impossible to play with EVERYTHING at the same time, and so what is not being used must be put away first. This works well when the kids actually do it. But sometimes they don’t, and the mess simply snowballs. Sometimes I don’t enforce the rule as I should, like when we have friends over or host play dates.
We’ve tried just everything I can think of to stave off an avalanche: a reward system, a daily magnetic chore chart, taking toys away, taking room decor away (My girl loves her pink curtains more than anything!), restricting playtime with friends and even grounding them from going outside on a gorgeous day … like yesterday.
After more than a week of impassable rooms — Literally. There was no place to walk without stepping on something. — I gave them a deadline. Anything not put away by 5pm would be thrown away. Before you think I’m cruel, understand this ultimatum came after I had already cleaned most of both their rooms. I do help them clean! But I also want them to take responsibility and care properly for their toys. Messy rooms lead to broken and lost toys. Anyway, after making the declaration, I reminded them several times throughout the day, but they just kept ignoring the threat and the deadline. I set a timer to remind them when the deadline was just fifteen minutes away. Come 5pm their rooms were still disastrous and I had no choice but to fill a very large bag with their floor droppings. The girl cried so severely we thought she would vomit. The boy calmly helped me put his favorite toys into the garbage bag and then pointed out toys I had missed in my first round.
So now what do I do? Do I REALLY throw away everything I took? Or stash it in the garage to be given back as rewards later? Will that diminish my threat and authority?
Okay, so that’s more than one question, but you can help me – right?
To read more dilemmas and share your wisdom visit Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.
March Ellie-isms & Zach Attacks
Happy April! The first of the month means a review of the last. Here are some of my favorite kid quotes from March. Enjoy!
Ellie: “I put chopsticks on my lips all the time when they’re dry.”
(This is not about dry chopsticks, but rather dry lips and chapstick.)
Zach: “Daddy’s a boy and Ben is a boy and I’m a boy. I think that means Ben and Ellie’s brother are TWINS!!”
Ellie: “I have an idea for a new project! We take celery and pop on a head, and it’s a camel! Camels say ‘uuuuuurrrrr!!’ U-R urrrrrrr. Do camels have legs?”
Me: “Oh, no. A bird pooped on the car.”
Ellie: “Are we allowed to say bird poop?”
Me: “Well — “
Zach: “POOP! Poopy! Poopy! Poopy! Poopy! Poopy! BIRD POOP!”
Ellie: “Mom, I need to go to bed now. I have five things I’m sick about today. One: my eyes are itchy, and I can’t see. Two: my ears are funny, and I can’t hear well during the night. Three: I can’t smell well. Four: I have a teef-cut. And five: my fingernails are a little bit hurty.”
(It’s allergy season. I’m not sure what a “teefcut” is, but I think it has something to do with biting her cheek. Maybe.)
Zach: “But I’m not tired because — One: I’m hungry. And, two: I don’t want to.”
(Obviously, counting is a big deal around here.)
Zach: “Only pee-pee came out. I think my poopy went to the library in my tummy. He’ll go downstairs later when he’s ready to come out.”
(I have no idea where he got the idea for compartmentalizing his body, but I think it’s so funny! We call our upstairs loft “the library”, so maybe … yeah, I don’t know.)
Me: “Ellie, what do you want to wear today?”
Ellie: “Oh, Mom, I can’t! My mind and my thinking mind are fighting, so I can’t think.
Me: “Huh? What are they fighting about?”
Ellie: “My mind and my thinking mind … (grunt) want a clean basketball, but … oh! They can’t get the mud … My thinking mind … and then my walking mind said — (grunt) … Ah, that’s better.
Me, laughing: “Are you okay?”
Ellie: “Yeah. I want to wear my Tinkerbell shirt, but my eating mind wants some peanuts. Can I have some peanuts?”
And in case anyone has doubts about sinful nature, this is what my cherubs said yesterday:
Zach: “We need to find money.”
Me: “Why?”
Zach: “To put in our piggy banks.”
Ellie: “And we found LOTS!”
Zach: “Yup, yup.”
Me: “Where?”
Ellie: “In your room!”
Zach: “You gots lots of purses!”
Ellie, conspiratorially whispered as they walked away: “Don’t let Mommy interfere. We’re gonna steal all her monies!”
Zach, with a menacing laugh: “Yeah! You look in her guitar and I’ll check her shoes. Ha, ha, ha!”
