Working Hard (or hardly working)

July 21, 2009

in Darndest Things,Homemaker,Motherhood

My son is quite the little entrepreneur.   The other night after dinner my husband was reading the girls a book and I sat on the couch to read a little myself.  I looked over to see what my son was up to and discovered he had put all the dishes in the sink, and was scrubbing the dining room table.   He even asked where the sandwich bags where so he could bag up the leftovers and put them in the fridge.  Needless to say, I praised him for his hard work and the big help he was to me.  As I sat down reading my book, I thought to myself how I could really get used to this.  Then my son piped up, “Mom, I’m doing this b/c I want to make some money.” So much for being motivated to serve out of his love and devotion to dear old mom.  I promised him that this week Dad and I would talk about allowances and chores. 

household chores 

Of course the next day when I asked him to clean the table up after breakfast, he complained that he wished he had never told me it was fun and he didn’t want this to be his job anymore.  He then wanted to know if he could “take my flute and a hat and go play for money so he could pay someone else to clean the table.”

Looks like Dad and I definitely have to sit down this week and talk about chores and allowances.  We gotta set some rules and standards here soon.  He’s obviously old enough to work and I think he’s old enough to have some money of his own as well.  We just gotta decide how the two relate to one another.  http://notbefore7.blogspot.com/

{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

Mom July 21, 2009 at 4:14 pm

Cute picture! He is really getting into his work. Or is he just on top of what needed done LOL Anyway – he is growing up TOO fast!!

stella g July 21, 2009 at 5:08 pm

that kid just cracks me up. i know Dave Ramsey has a program for kids if that’s of interest. i don’t know much about it, but it’s a money-for-work sort of deal. a concept your son clearly understands well!

Mary notbefore7 July 21, 2009 at 9:15 pm

That picture is adorable! His thought process is so funny. You gotta love their back and forth decision and thoughts.

Happy TTT

Happy July 21, 2009 at 11:00 pm

He’s so funny…I just gotta meet him someday! I’m pretty sure I could use some cleaning help so maybe just send him over. I’m sure he could negotiate himself a fair deal!

Bobbi July 22, 2009 at 1:30 am

He did not say that! That is hilarious!

Jennifer @ Doing the Next Thing July 23, 2009 at 5:34 pm

ha ha ha … my oldest was a lot like that at his age. First installment of my “chores” post is up, by the way. I didn’t deal with allowances/chores yet. We’ve done it different ways through the years. We always say that basic chores are just part of what we do to help each other out and live as a family. When the Big 3 were younger, we did go through a phase where they could get a (very small – we were always on a tight budget) allowance on Saturday if they demonstrated diligence in their chores throughout the week. Now, however, we say that demonstrating diligence in “basic chores” earns you the privilege of doing extra chores for money. Our older ones babysit, mow the lawn, clean baseboards, etc. – but they can only earn money doing that if their basic chores are done first. It’s always tricky and we adapt as the kids, their needs, and our budget changes.
Your kiddos are cute!

Jami July 24, 2009 at 3:29 pm

That might be my favorite kid comment ever! There are many days when I would like to pay someone else to clean my table too! : )

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