New Responsibility Chart

Growing up, my father devised a system of helping us take more responsability around the house and for our actions. He had a list of things we had to rate ourselves on every day. I still remember most of them, from having them rattled off so often. Here were the standouts:

• Homework
• Practice
• Prayer
• Put things away, not down
• Do as Jesus does

Our weekly score was tied up with what privileges or allowance we received. I think we started this rating system around second grade, and continued off-and-on in one form or another throughout grade school.

I have been trying to figure out a way to get the boys excited about helping out around here. We have been pretty good about getting them to clean up their toys each night, but sometimes it becomes a battle.

We were at Toys R Us the other day looking for a birthday present for Charlotte's buddy Lukas, when I found a great magnetic Responsibility Chart in the wooden puzzle section. There are a ton of different responsibility magnets with pictures of kids doing things on them, and smiley face "buttons" that say things like "Good Job" and "Awesome" on them.

I unwrapped it when we got home, and the kids helped me pick out what they were responsible for. Here is what we came up with:

• Get Dressed (without yelling or complaining)
• Share (on their own, without mom intervening)
  
• Clear Table
• Put Toys Away
• Brush Teeth
• Put Clothes in Hamper
  
• Get Ready for Bed (again without yelling)

Since it was set up for one child. We decided to color code the buttons. We put a blue one if both boys do it, a red one if Jackson is the only one who does something, and a green one if Mikey is the only one. I told them that if at the end of the week "most" of the squares were full of buttons, especially blue ones, we could get a treat. The more buttons, the better the treat. They immediately went around and cleaned their toys, cleared their breakfast dishes, helped sort the laundry and offered to share toys and snacks with Charlotte. It was amazing.

We were out of town for 5 days and didn't have the chart. I found Jackson on a stool this morning putting a blue button on the chart after they got dressed. He then ran in and told Mikey to help put their breakfast dishes in the sink so they could get another button. I hope the magic lasts!