By: Brittney Baily
While grocery shopping recently, I met the friendliest cashier! He was kind and spoke with such joy to each of his customers. When it was my turn, I told him how much I appreciated his kindness and how contagious it was! He smiled, and said, “Well, quite frankly ma’am, I am living my dream job. This job pays for my dreams to come true. Some might argue, but if you want that dream car, or you want that dream house, you gotta work for it! And that’s what I’m doing, and here we all do our best.”
In all sincerity, this guy deserves a raise! I believed what he was saying, and thought how important it is that we teach our children the value of hard work, but also the importance that every job is important. This cashier had the power to leave an impression on me that I’ve kept to this day.
Chores are a big part of our lives at my home! I feel better, mentally, when my house is in order. I save a lot of time because I try to know where everything is, instead of always looking. We aren’t minimalists, but I like minimal clutter. It helps us to keep what we need, give away what we don’t, and give our kids a better understanding that THINGS aren’t that important, and giving IS.
As soon as my babies could walk, whenever playtime was over I introduced clean up time. Of course, it’s not expected of my tiny babies, but I don’t believe it’s ever too early to train little helpers. 🙂
The jobs might take a little bit longer to complete, but letting your child help is truly great! The pride they exude when they’ve finished a task alone or of their own accord is such a sweet reward! I hope to instill into all of my kids the importance of hard work and completing a job to the best of their ability.
Now that Liam is 7, he is resistant to cleaning, (as most kids are!) but he loves a good competition! I use the timer, not as an intimidation tool, but more because I know that is his style. My 3-year-old daughter is an awesome little helper, but mostly on her own time. So I know that she helps best when I don’t necessarily force her, but tell her how much it means to be a big helper in our home. Chore charts are a nice idea, but they’ve never worked for us. Every day changes, but for some, a dedicated list of responsibilities helps to create a routine. Allowances are a good incentive, although I don’t know what the going rate for chores is these days. 🙂
Our homes should have a sense of tranquility, where we feel at peace and comfort. The slice of our world where we want to be most. As parents, I feel it is such a beautiful power to make our house a Home. As the cashier at Aldi pointed out, “We all do our best.”
It will never be perfect, because if you pull my couch out, I’m sure you’ll find lost toys, books, a whisk, and maybe some old fruit snacks, but I know that as we all work together in the roles we have established for ourselves and our children, it will be the perfect place that we will grow and create so many loving memories!
What do chores look like for your family? Are you bogged down and feeling like you are doing it all alone, or do you have a system in place where everyone helps together? Reach out and let me know or follow us on our B100 MomSquad Facebook group!