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Friday, March 18, 2011

Do you do chores or jobs?

Do your kids have chores or jobs? We have both. Chores are done daily and pay in hugs and attaboys. Some jobs are daily, some are weekly but they pay commission. We've used chore/job charts for a long time to list what needs to be done, how much it pays if it does and when it needs to be done. We use them for a while and then it seems we get bored with that particular process and I switch to something else.

Even the kids get bored with the commission process. I've noticed lately that we are having more difficulty doing our chores/jobs because of a couple of new shows on PBS Kids in the afternoon. Then one of my piano student's Moms told me she has started paying in electronics time. So for each job/chore done correctly the child is awarded so many electronics minutes with his Nintendo DSi, computer time, TV times, etc. 

So for the next few weeks in our house we are going to try this, especially since Spring Break is next week and I won't be letting them lay around and watch TV everyday. Although that's what they will want to do. It will help with getting the work done around here and give them a chance to earn some TV time. They can earn enough time daily to watch a 30 minute show or can save their minutes for a longer time period.

I have typed up a new chore/job chart for them to check off and I think it will bring new excitement to our jobs.

This won't be a long standing process, I plan to use it for 4 weeks. I will then go back to commissions because I get paid in money for jobs that I do for others and I expect my kids to develop a work ethic. 

I know that we are going to have a few issues with the payments in minutes process because some of my kids could care less if they don't watch TV and other's will get up extra early to do all the chores/jobs for the day to get all the minutes. So I will have to manage it well as problems arise.

The other problem, and the main reason we will only do this for 4 weeks is that there is no way to tithe our TV minutes. It's hard to turn in a voucher to church for 10% of our time in front of the TV. However we can tithe 10% of our time in our Bible reading before we watch TV. 

My hope is that this process will get things done around here a lot faster and without much argument. I think it's a great idea and am thankful for the Mom who gave me the idea. 

Our first week starts Sunday, so we will see how it goes.

I can't upload my chore/job chart so if you would like a copy please email me and I will send it to you.
And if you know how to help me get it on my blog, please let me know!

Have a great weekend!!!