Bribery at it's Finest

Unfortunately I am not great at deligating. I know I should be dishing out chores to the kids to teach them all those life lessons of responsibility, community, etc, but to be honest, it's easier to do it myself. I was discussing this with a friend who told me how her family did it: the children didn't have set chores, but there was a system wherein if someone chose to do something extra, they earned a "star", and at the end of the week the stars were counted up and paid for.

This morning Jack wanted to go to Walmart to buy a toy he's been wishing for. He has his own money, made up of found coins and gifts from family. When he found the toy, he was short on funds. He only brought $11 with him and the toy was $24. He had more at home, but is still $3 short before tax. I know he wanted me to make up the difference and to be honest I wanted to too, but I saw it as an opportunity to motivate him. I noted his shortfall and recommended we find a way for him to earn the difference.

After supper tonight we made a list of things he can do to earn "J"s on the calendar. Some are chores, some are good behaviours, all are voluntary. He noticed Paxten was struggling with the timer on the microwave and went over to help her. I think this was a fluke b/c when I noted he was being extra nice to a sibling and put a "J" on today's square you could almost see the lightbulb over his head. He's sitting here working on a craft, which he put down the minute the dishwasher fell silent, eager to unload it - even disappointed when I said he had to wait as it was too hot...

The novelty of this new system may break the bank this week, but hopefully it's something that works for a little while...

N

***UPDATE*** Shock of shocks - not only are the boys unloading and LOADING the dishwasher, but they're working TOGETHER to do it. Nicely. I may faint.