KellieW
05-10-2007, 05:09 AM
My kids are 5 1/2 and 3 1/2. They are homeschooled 3 days a week and go to school 2 days a week. I work at the school as an instructional aide. My point is that I spend tons of time with my kids; reading to them, playing with them, etc. My older child loves to play with things like LEGOs and Hot Wheels, which make a pretty big mess in his room. 10 minutes of play can create about an hour of mess for him to clean up.The kids help out with chores (cooking, dishes, tidying their rooms for 20 minutes, etc.). Is is appropriate that I ask my son if he would prefer to play with his sister or finish cleaning his room? I prefer the peace and quiet while cleaning, and the kids have more fun playing together. He always opts to play with his sister. They also have friends over to play with, and we do tons of stuff together.I think we all benefit, as my daughter has a fresh playmate, I get calm time, and he has a nice balance of chore time and sibling time. What do you think?Just wanted to clarify: My son does have to clean up after himself. He can't leave stuff lying around the house, and he is expected to spend at least 20 minutes a day cleaning his room. However, since we are home most of the day, and he loves to build LEGO stuff (which requires him to dump out many boxes to find the right peice) I'm OK with helping him tidy. He can't simply opt out of cleaning to play with his little sister. What I offer him is a "You clean your room for 20 minutes (and I tell him what I expect to be cleaned during that time), and if you will keep your sister busy (so I can clean not just his room, but the rest of the house), I'll do the rest." What takes me 15 minutes takes him 45. He is 5, after all. He does have responsibilities. He sorts and puts away his laundry, he unloads the dishwasher, sets the table, and cooks a mean steak (seriously). I'm not interested in raising a man who cannot care for himself! I just want a break from "My Little Ponys" occasionally.