Toddlers doing chores. It is adorable and funny, but mostly for their own entertainment and far from being helpful. It's still good practice. I remember when Lyla was 18 months old and mimicked me as I cleaned our glass table. She was so proud about it too. It's interesting how a simple task like cleaning a table would never be described as cute on an adult, but if a a one year old is performing the task it is the most incredible thing ever. I think that's most of parenting actually, praising our children for functioning like a civilized human being. It all starts from the beginning --- we praise them for clapping, crawling, walking, pooping, using a spoon, and eventually wiping a table with a paper towel. We are all love struck idiots.
Well. Now Lyla is three. Basically three and a half. And she keeps talking about turning four. It needs to stop. However, with all this growing up business, she is well aware that our house doesn't become clean by way of magic. She's been pitching in at home with daily tasks and it's actually been time saving for me. I've been pleasantly surprised. She switches loads of laundry, helps unload the dishwasher, arranges my couch pillows, gets Max dressed from head to toe, and she can almost make her bed all by herself. She also likes to clean toilets, vacuum, and mop the floors --- but those chores still require a lot of supervision and are less than helpful to me at this point.
Well. Now Lyla is three. Basically three and a half. And she keeps talking about turning four. It needs to stop. However, with all this growing up business, she is well aware that our house doesn't become clean by way of magic. She's been pitching in at home with daily tasks and it's actually been time saving for me. I've been pleasantly surprised. She switches loads of laundry, helps unload the dishwasher, arranges my couch pillows, gets Max dressed from head to toe, and she can almost make her bed all by herself. She also likes to clean toilets, vacuum, and mop the floors --- but those chores still require a lot of supervision and are less than helpful to me at this point.
With her being so eager to help out all the time, Kirk and I talked about sneaking in an early lesson about earning money as well. I never realized how many harsh opinions were out there about rewarding children with money until I turned to my good friend, Google. Yikes! Apparently we should also be taxing at 30% and requiring a 10% donation to charity. Good grief. It's all good and fine if any parent chooses to do this, but there's no way we're getting that intense in preparing our three year old for the real world. And while I don't really see the point in rewarding kids for picking up after themselves, I do think it's beneficial for them to earn money for some of the other stuff. As long as the money earning chore is age appropriate, then I think we will be just fine. I wouldn't reward money to Lyla for putting her own Barbies away, just as I wouldn't pay her for taking out the garbage when she is a teenager --- at least I hope I would never become that desperate! I'm not doubting any parenting curveballs anymore. Lol.
Lyla has earned $9.00 over the past few weeks and has become very protective over her wallet. If she were wiser, she would talk to her parents about a consistent wage rate. At this point, she will earn a dollar one week and a quarter the next for the same task. It always just depends on the situation and/or how much cash either of us has on hand. I'm sure as time goes on we will develop a more consistent system, especially once Max comprehends the value of a dollar. He remains Lyla's constant shadow when it comes to chores, but the earning money concept is still way over his head.
Lyla has earned $9.00 over the past few weeks and has become very protective over her wallet. If she were wiser, she would talk to her parents about a consistent wage rate. At this point, she will earn a dollar one week and a quarter the next for the same task. It always just depends on the situation and/or how much cash either of us has on hand. I'm sure as time goes on we will develop a more consistent system, especially once Max comprehends the value of a dollar. He remains Lyla's constant shadow when it comes to chores, but the earning money concept is still way over his head.
Lyla's materialistic desires are centered around Barbies, so we stopped in at ToysRus to get an idea of what kind of Barbie she wants to save for. Lyla picked out the babysitter barbie set with a price tag of $49.99. She is clearly my daughter with that champagne taste and beer budget. I was hoping she would pick something more in the $20.00 price range so she could pick up on this money-saving-lesson a little sooner, but maybe this will turn into a lesson in self-discipline instead. I will encourage her to hold out for what she really wants, but if she is anything like me, patience will not come easily. Regardless, I really enjoy this new little game we've started. Her concept of personal responsibility is expanding and her wheels are turning. That's all that matters to me.
Disclaimer: I don't want to paint a picture that Lyla is an obedient little angel or anything. She's a sweetie pie, but she is also reluctant to pick up her toys just as often as she is willing. In that case, I typically threaten to clean them up on my own by throwing them in the garbage. It's terribly mean, but works like a charm every time. I did have to follow through with that threat once when it came to play dough. And I'm still happy about it because I despise that stuff.
Oh, and she was not pleased when she learned the purpose of our ToysRus trip was for browsing only. I guess she thought I was joking when I warned her beforehand? As you can imagine, she was devastated when she had to return Barbie to the shelf.
Barbie will be waiting, Lyla girl. Only $41.00 left to go. [mom will cover the tax when you are three.]
Disclaimer: I don't want to paint a picture that Lyla is an obedient little angel or anything. She's a sweetie pie, but she is also reluctant to pick up her toys just as often as she is willing. In that case, I typically threaten to clean them up on my own by throwing them in the garbage. It's terribly mean, but works like a charm every time. I did have to follow through with that threat once when it came to play dough. And I'm still happy about it because I despise that stuff.
Oh, and she was not pleased when she learned the purpose of our ToysRus trip was for browsing only. I guess she thought I was joking when I warned her beforehand? As you can imagine, she was devastated when she had to return Barbie to the shelf.
Barbie will be waiting, Lyla girl. Only $41.00 left to go. [mom will cover the tax when you are three.]
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