State: MA
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Member since: Oct 24, 2007
Last logged in: Dec 01, 2008
I am mom to a wonderful 7 yo boy with dwarfism, autism and apraxia. He is the light of my life. I also have a 3.5 yo daughter who is NT and full of life. It's like being a mom for the first time - all over again. I have a great husband and we own our own consulting company. Yeah - life is a little hectic here.
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carmel66's Compositions
by carmel66 on 01.05.08 - public - 109 visits
I am the worst at this. My kids have no chores. Carson is 6.5 years old. I make lots of excuses but I see him help straighten up at school. My three year old is just becoming reasonable enough for this.
I guess it's time, huh? They are both about three developmentally.
I guess that's a goal for 2008, huh?
Comments(4)
carmel66
Posted on Fri, 11 Jan 2008
We'll all get there eventually. I keep forgetting to throw out that yardstick that I tend to measure our family against everyone else (I think someone forgot to tell me we are dealing with autism hee hee).
SuziMom
Posted on Thu, 10 Jan 2008
Thanks Carmel, now I won't feel so guilty about the "organized disaster" at my home, LOL! Billy does chores at school too but at home......I gave up on the constant reminders (I even used post-it notes) it gets both of us stressed out. That's a big trigger for him. What I do now is pick a cool reward for both of us (ie: "Movie Night"- a movie we both like, pop popcorn & snuggle) and do a "clean-up". I tell him it's to "prep for the movie!!" Sounds like I'm bribing, but he happily helps pick up his toys (tons of dinosaurs) and small chores. I just don't push him & when he starts to look distressed, I say "OK, that's a great job, you are such a good boy! I'm proud of you!". We're both happy & it's slowly working better. This only took 4 years to figure out, tho, LOL. A regular schedule is almost impossible because of both of our disabilities & unexpected "drama".
janneane7
Posted on Sat, 5 Jan 2008
My Mom did the same thing although she wasn't really anal about everything being just perfect. I grew up in a very lived in home. I also remember her teaching my brothers how to iorn and do laundry and telling them you need to know how to do this! Plus your future wife will thank me LOL. With that being said I think that chores tell kids that as a part of this family you have to pitch in and help (although I know that with Wynn's issues right now that would be so difficult if not impossible.) A great way too to help get kids involved in chores is to make it just part of the daily schedule. For example when my daughter started doing the dinner dishes 3 nights a week she had to do them before TV. It was just part of the schedule She whined a lot but got it done... Andy had to empty the wastebaskets before we could go outside to play or to the playground. He got it done because he wanted to go play!
shannonj
Posted on Sat, 5 Jan 2008
The tough part about giving chores to kids is being there to follow up...I can remember the hundreds of tears I cried when my mom made me sweep the kitchen floor over and over until it was just right. At the time, I thought she must be the meanest, cruelest mom around...but now, I am so grateful for the lessons of being thorough and diligent. It really does carry over into so many areas of our lives..... Having said that--my son doesn't do chores either! My NT daughter is great at helping out, but Wynn has such horrible OCD right now that adding new demands raises anxiety--which increases OCD--which then takes me closer to the brink--which means that I will happily do the chores myself if it means that he won't add a new obsessive-compulsive habit to his current repetoire!
