Public Offender #1.....Blake
Public Offender #2.....Hubs...with most objects all over house
AND....Public Offender #3....Kaia....takes the cake on the messiest
No joke...her room can go from completely clean to THIS in ONE day. She never closes her dresser drawers...I'm not sure why....maybe not enough time...I need to ask her one day. I'm sure she will have a very fun, very witty excuse that will make me laugh out loud...because that is what our sweet Kaia does for our family....makes us laugh out loud!
But, back to our Family Night Lesson. I printed each of these pictures on paper. I spoke about how important it was to keep things orderly and clean to show respect and appreciation for the comforts we enjoy and the nice things we have. I then told the family that America's Most Wanted was in town. Kaia's eyes got really big. I followed it with "they are looking for Public Offenders #1, 2 and 3." As I held up the pictures I called out "which Public Offender is this?" The kids loved it and Hubs got a good laugh from it too. I think the pictures made an impact. I told them that as a mommy, I don't mind helping them out and picking up things once in a while, but when mommy has a lot of things on her to-do list and then has to pick all this up too....it makes it hard for mommy to get everything done. They all agreed that the pictures showed a messy house and that is not fair for mommy. Of course no pictures showed Mommy as a public offender, because mommy doesn't mind picking up her own messes....although it would be nice if someone offered sometime!
We made a new rule in our home last night. If something is left out {out of order} when the kids or Hubs leaves for work in the morning....it disappears for three days. At first the kids thought 'no big deal' until I explained to Blake that it might mean he doesn't get to play with his blocks for three days....or Kaia's favorite and only pair of tennis shoes might not be available a day it is raining....or her skinny jeans.....or her towel to dry off after the shower!!! They quickly got the idea and all are on board.
It should be a fun bloggy week for me. I will definitely share what has "disappeared" each day! I might even make Hubs play along....at least for a few minutes....i.e.....what keys?....what jacket?....what money?.....what ovaltine?.....what shoes?.....what deoderant?.....OK...you get the picture! Yes....it will be a fun week {in my best Desperate Housewives voice}!
Steph's room is the same way, clean one day and a war zone the next. I'll be anxious to hear if your new rule works.
ReplyDeleteoh i could not handle it. i am seriously lucky that my kid has just enough OCD to keep a clean room and make this mama happy.
ReplyDeletethe kitchen drives me the most crazy. i keep the sink empty and the dishwasher pretty empty too. so dude, rinse it of ant put it in the dishwasher. why is that so hard?
Can I please please please steal your "public offender" idea for my house? I have a big boy (dad), a medium boy (10), a small boy (4) and a wee one (7 months) that all to get called out!!! Yup, even wee one. I plan on doing this in secret tonight or tomorrow, depending on which day is worse.
ReplyDeleteOK April, I need to remind you what we did when you guys were "messy" kids. The three day rule is great except if they don't care what you picked up. Remember that you guys had to do a job to get your item back. On Saturday EVERYTHING had to be redeemed before you could go and do anything. Hence, whether you really wanted the item or not, it had to be redeemed. Just had to add to my two cents. You are really taking your Family Nights seriously - the teaching moments!!
ReplyDeleteLove, Mom
Good for you! It'll be interesting to see how your family does with the new rules of picking up!
ReplyDeleteHaahaaa... I would love to use that idea, but I am public offender #1 in our house!
ReplyDelete