Oh how I love laundry....not in a million years! Once upon a time when it was just my laundry, it wasn't half bad. As came the man and three sons to follow it became less and less appealing. Single socks are my enemy! My kids have got to help out.
That's when the "Match the Sock" game got invented. Somewhere along the line I realized that chores can be done if the kids are having fun. Alex and Eric love the game. I dump the whole basket of single socks on the floor and the object is whoever makes the most pairs wins. The kids have a ball and I get my chore done. Brilliant! I'm a believer in rewards and they work like a charm. The rewards are usually simple like stickers, a snack (that they were to have any way) or the first pick of a DVD or game.
Unless I win the lottery... the laundry and chores will have to get done so I might as well teach them early to help me out. I'm sure my future daughter-in-laws would appreciate it.
There is a few other tricks I've learned:
Turn on the TV
Sounds crazy I know, but this works every time for my kids. We choose a TV show we all love and have family TV time. The challenge is to see who can win by getting the most chores done during the commercial breaks. So much better than commercials brain washing your kids anyway.
Turn up the volume
The "I don't belong" game is great before dinner or expected company. I set a timer for 3 minutes, blast some tunes and we pick up as many things that don't belong and put them in their place. Singing and dancing through a chore actually makes it fun.
Never use as a punishment
If you use chores as a punishment that is what they will always be viewed as.
I start by building up my boys immune systems. The kids get multi-vitamins every morning. O.J. is the juice of choice and I cook with a lot of garlic. Soups are great because thanks to my Magic Bullet, I can hide tons of veggies in them. Everyday I can't stress enough to my boys about washing their hands to kill the germs. I try really hard to keep them healthy but even with all I do some selfish, arrogant, careless parent WILL send their sick child to school! I know it can be tough taking a day off work to stay home with your child but if you send them to school about 20 or more other parents would have to potentially stay home as well. Once Alex brings home a cold from school it will be passed on to his brothers and my husband and I. I worry about Jack the most. Being only 7 months old, a simple cold can be more dangerous.
If my child is sick, I will keep him home in bed to rest and I beg other parents to please do the same especially this season with the scary risk of H1N1 flu. Please teach your children to cover their coughs and wash their hands. If everyone does their part our children have a better chance of staying healthy during the cold winter months.
