Stepping Up...

One of Kate's friends must have learned about Earth Day

 at her school because while playing together last weekend, 

this girl decided to "clean the earth" 

by sweeping her front yard....  

Inspired by her buddy's "Save the Earth!" attitude,

 Kate went straight for the broom

 as soon as she came home...  

She swept the front walks with vigor...  

I can't get her to pick up candy wrappers she left 

on the living room floor, 

much less sweep inside...  

Kids need creative motivation to do chores 

that they would normally sneer at...  

Enter one of my new favorite books, 

"Cleaning House: A Mom's Twelve-Month Experiment

 to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement"  

by Kay Wills Wyma... 

Kay is a mother of five kids, 

ranging in age from 5 years to 16 years of age...  

They live in a tony suburb of Dallas 

and enjoy a comfortable life...  

Kay had a shocking revelation one day 

when she admitted to herself that her children 

lived such sheltered, helicoptered lives

 that they would emerge into adulthood 

lacking basic life skills, 

such as knowing how to do laundry, 

purchase groceries, mend clothes 

or how throw a great party...  

She feared her offspring would suffer the agony of defeat

 when they would realize that six figure salaries 

don't happen right out of college

 and that they might need to know how to unclog a toilet

or perhaps make dinner for themselves...  

Not mastering the most elementary tasks in home keeping 

prevents the satisfaction of acquiring these skills,

 however when the basics are learned, 

it creates a strong sense of accomplishment for youngsters... 

So Kay taught her kids how to keep bedrooms clean, 

bathrooms tidy, meals made, 

and lawns mowed, 

with much kicking and screaming...  

In the end, her sons and daughters gained a whole lot self esteem 

while getting into the groove

 of their new chores and requirements...
  

I regretfully recognize this enabling culture 

in myself and with some friends...  

I can't think of too many parents I know who would dream 

of letting their ten year olds cut vegetables with a REAL knife, 

or would make them do their own laundry...  

And most ten year olds, in this neck of the woods,
would laugh if asked to cut the lawn...  

"My dad won't let me do it!  It's his job, anyway.", 

they would retort... 

We don't require our kids to do the same chores, if any,

that we did at a much younger age, 

because we are so busy that we know 

we can do it better and faster ourselves...  

Or we don't want to deal with the whining and belly aching, 

or we allow our precious children to focus on studies, 

sports or piano so they will earn a scholarship 

to that ivy league school 

with monstrous tuitions...  

Whatever the reason, we are doing our children a disservice 

by not equipping them with the basic skills they need

 should they ever leave the nest... 

 Please GOD, have them leave the nest...  

Kay's book was inspirational to me

 because she held firm to the task, even when she felt like caving 

and she accomplished her goals...  

To see Kate willingly sweep the front walk 

reminded me of Kay's book...  

I have been waiting for the right moment

 to institute the first step in Kay's twelve month 

adventure in kid enpowerment...  

Step one: Teach the kids to keep their rooms clean...  

Place thirty-one single dollar bills in a jar for each child... 

This is their monthly allowance...

Yep, it's pricey, but worth every George Washington... 

Then help them fully organize their rooms, 

demonstrating what you deem acceptable 

for clean and tidy...  

For me, that means made beds,

 and a clutter free floor... 

 Cramming things into closets 

is a deal breaker...  

The room needs to have some semblance of organization... 

 To think of it, T$ could benefit from this exercise, too!  

Each morning, before we leave for school, 

I  will perform a quick visual sweep of the rooms... 

 If they are not up to snuff, 

I remove one dollar from the offender's jar...  

At the month's start, the kids marvel
at a jar stuffed with money 

and they become very protective 

of their wad of dough... 

 They don't want to see that pile of cash diminish, 

so they have motivation 

to keep their rooms clean...  

This is the theory that worked for Kay...  

I just need to work up the courage to begin...  

Because once the train is rolling, 

I have to keep up my end of the deal, too...

It's going to be painful, for sure...

 This is not really about making your life easier, 

because the opposite happens 

while you are conditioning your kids 

to become tidier, more skilled and self reliant... 

We will gradually add clean bathrooms,
meal planning,
small fix it projects,
grocery shopping and event planning...

There will be tears, anger and lots of frustration,

 but hopefully in the end my kids 

will feel really great about what they will know how

 to do for themselves...  

Oh jeez, I need to get this under way... 

 Maybe May 1 is the day of reckoning...  

Would somebody please hold my hand?

 I am gonna need some support!