Guys. I’m a genius, and its important that you know it.
I’m entirely kidding, obviously. But I solved a mild complication in our home and I feel really good about it.
Firstly, I know kids doing chores looks different in every home. Dishes is the job I push for every single day. Some have an easier time with it than others, and not everyone is entirely capable of doing the whole job. But also, not everyone likes working together. So, as many of us know, its quite a dance.
Our recent system has been as follows: Dekker and Rowan alternate doing dishes in the morning and after school. Laela does evening dishes. Thats the biggest one, for sure, but its the one she prefers. I’m not a monster, I promise. Meanwhile, Solly and Wavy are in charge of garbage and recycling.
Aaaaand how the recent system goes? Not awesome. Rowan hates dishes. Solly hates recycling, and Wavy knows it, so she always picks garbage first, because she moves faster than Solly. But its the system we’ve had. Not everything is easy. Thats ok.
So the other day, I went downstairs in the morning to get the boys up, and gave Sol the usual lecture about actually getting up, actually getting ready, and actually NOT standing in the middle of the basement in the buck, talking to himself for ten minutes. But, I know him, and I know thats what he’ll do. I’m not sure I’ve talked about it on the blog, but Solomon was also diagnosed with ADHD, alongside Rowan. They have entirely different types, and Solly is so deeply inattentive, its a bit bonkers to witness. Anyway, that very day, I finally put it all together! How we could make the morning WAY easier for him, plus solve some of my issue with chores.
When I got Sol up that day, I asked him to come up right away instead of getting dressed for the day, and I asked him to set the table for breakfast. He was all over it! Grabbed his glasses and came up with me in his jammie pants. He set the table and poured milk while everyone else got up and ready.
At breakfast, both boys took their meds. As always.
By the time he was done eating, Solly was significantly more in there, and he got ready for school with time to spare!!! This is a HUGE victory for him!!! And WAY less nagging and frustration for me!!!
This solved my issue of chores for Solly and Wavy on the spot. Solly is my official table setter. That includes pouring drinks, putting out serving utensils, and getting a new milk from the basement if we need one. Thats all his gig. And Wavy does both garbage and recycling. That includes the diapers we all throw into the entrance throughout the day.
Meanwhile, dishes are still on the big kids. Laela is happy with her slot, and Dekker and Rowan are trying out a system where Dekker does morning dishes, and Rowan does afternoon dishes for the week. And then on the weekend, no one does morning dishes *GASP* and they share the job of afternoon dishes. We’ll see how smoothly that goes, haha! Rowan is quite resistant to change, and since agreeing to this change, he is concerned he won’t be able to have play dates after school anymore. And he will, because the real goal is to teach the kids to flex and help each other out here and there. But its a process, for sure!
Anyway. This really feels like a win for me, and I’m excited to share it with you!! We, of course, have other jobs we do. Everyone picks up the house every day, twice a day. And kids help when asked. But for the same of structure, this makes me really, really happy 🙂