Cleaning…chores….sighhhhhhh is an infinite battle in my house (I’ve been spending a lot of time talking about that lately haven’t I). Well I can say we have reached a 80% no whining, melt down, do it because I am supposed to do rate but woooo momma that other 20%….lordy help me.
After years of battling and attempted “behavior modification” with my ever feisty and perpetually determined to make me crazy oldest I decided a few months back to take a route unfamiliar with me…I compromised with her. I decided we she would select the household chore that she could tolerate. This all in the hopes that the tantrum, whine factor and incessant battling over doing your chores would significantly decrease… and what do you know…it really did…well mostly…until last week.
“Go upstairs and separate the today’s laundry.”
{sighhhhh} overly dramatic grumpy face (because I didn’t already know how unhappy she was about doing her chores after say… years of tantrums and stomping and refusing) with a bit of mad stomping up the stairs for added effect.
“Hooowws the laundry separating going,” I ask from downstairs.
minutes later…..nothing…no sound….
I walk upstairs to see what is up (duh….I totally know what is happening)
“What’s going on?” I say looking at the rolled up mound of an unhappy child trying to make a statement that is way past very clearly being made.
“I hate this.”
…cue mom speech about responsibility, her job as a member of this family….you picked this chore blah blah blah…you know the speech (heck she knows the speech).
She stares back at me.
“Let’s try something,” I say, “How about every time you think something negative, something or some reason about why you don’t like doing your chores you scream at the top of your lungs a super silly no way it is possible true shout out about what you are doing!”
{Perplexed look}
{aahhaa moment}
{Smile}
Getting back to my chores I hear a my oldest shouting from upstairs at the top of her lungs …
“I just LOVE separating the families dirty underwear into piles! Nothing makes me happier”
From the dining room craft room I hear my youngest shout…
“I just love cleaning up a million gazillion rainbow loom bands that someone left on the floor…oooo fun!”
and from the bathroom…
…and in that instant the Baughcum Family Cleaning Shout Out was born.
WARNING: Teaching children the shout out method may cause rolling on the floor laughter during cleaning and may slightly….oh shoot really reduce the amount of cleaning that actually gets done!