Chores and We Vlog

I'm a big BIG believer in chores for children. First of all, isn't one of the reasons we had kids, so that we'd have some help around the house?? No? Oh. Well, anyway. Chores are great for teaching children responsibility and understanding that they're part of our family team. I also think knowing that they are responsible for something important around the house helps build their self esteem.

The girls have had chores since they were about two and a half years old. First it was something completely simple, like carrying their dirty clothes to the laundry room. But they were still expected to do it every day, and they took pride in it. At two and three, they love having a "job." Amelia's main chore is setting the table for dinner. She likes to say "I'm in charge of the table!" and she takes pride in picking a table cloth and making sure everyone has a plate, fork, napkin, and glass. Sophia's chore is fixing breakfast for herself and for Amelia, and remembering their omega-3 vitamin (they take a multi-vitamin at night, but their omega-3 in the morning). She can fix cereal, oatmeal (instant, in the microwave), pancakes (I make them and freeze them, she gets them out and microwaves them), toast, yogurt, fruit... lots of things! She is pretty darn proud of herself too.

We also make them responsible for a lot of their own care, like getting dressed in the morning (I lay out their clothes though, just because it's so much easier) and putting their pajamas in their beds, brushing their teeth (I come in and help after they do it themselves), keeping their room picked up, fixing their own snacks (I keep little containers of cut up fruit and vegetables, cheese, etc. in the fridge) and drinks, and buckling themselves into their car seats (after I get Henry buckled, I make them show me that they're "tight" by pulling on the straps of their seats). Some of this is just self-preservation, because it's hard keeping up with three kids who all need something at the same time. But it's also more of teaching them responsibility and building self esteem.

And, completely unrelated, remember how I said this was the worst. summer. ever? SEE!!!!!!! http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/top-five-worst-summers_2010-09-22?page=5

Henry and I made a vlog this afternoon when I got home from work, which just shows that Henry really isn't really into vlogging. That's about all. My main goal was to keep Henry from diving through the computer screen. I'll work on content next time.