Chores

I have a confession to make.... we have too many toys and our kids feel entitled to constant entertainment, new activities, and fun. I feel that way most days, but how many parents out there don't feel that way sometimes? Well, I've been thinking and praying hard about what we can do to help our kids be more thankful and less demanding. I wanted to help them develop an attitude of empathy and graciousness for those around them. Finally one afternoon in a fit of desperation, I told the kids that I was tired of the constant bickering and contention in our house and didn't like what we had become. I asked them if they were tired of fighting about the mess and how much TV they could watch or if we could go out to eat, etc etc and they agreed it wasn't a very happy way to live. So (without their knowledge) the next night, I got out four totes from the garage and proceeded to slim down our toy supply to less than half what it was before. What was had been packed shelves became mostly empty with one or two items on each shelf. Books, art supplies, stuffed animals, pretend play supplies etc were all taken to the garage and then I waited. It's been over a week and they haven't asked what happened to all the toys on the shelves. They've happily played with what remains and the amount of frustration we have at clean up time is much less. They seem to even be playing more with their things. My personal theory is that it is not so overwhelming they can focus more on what they have. I write this only to document for them in the future that less is more. 

Then, last night at Family Home Evening, we had a lesson about how a family is like a team. We watched some videos of tandem bikers and used the old analogy of everyone pulling their weight or the bike falls down or doesn't make it up the hill.  We introduced a chore chart but this time there are no rewards. In the past we have implemented chores but always with a prize to be earned at the end. This time we are trying for working together just because that is what families do and we are all going to pull our weight. We are hoping and praying that it can help our kids learn to contribute and appreciate what it takes to run a home as they get older. So with less toys, the idea is they learn to appreciate and take care of what they have and with chores they learn that not everything is free and we all have to work together to achieve a successful home.... This is our goal. I am sure we will have to change it along the way but I'm excited for this start and hope we can keep it up.