There Was Carnage . . .

My computer is acting funny when it comes to pictures. So today I’ve got one whole Experiment photo. Sorry. But, it involves stuffed animals piled up in the hall in a chaotic heap, their faces staring blankly into the distance.

Kind of like my kids when I told them what I’d been doing for the last week.

There was shock. And awe. And a little bit of anger.

Oh well.

I think when I started totaling up numbers (of times beds were made, of times towels were hung, of times dishes were loaded, of times chores were even merely contemplated upon) they got the picture quite clearly.  Zero. Zero times.

We have now reeducated our children on the Division of Labor in our home. Every person has some piece of the work to do so that no one person (me) does it all. This is how a family works together happily and successfully.

It is interesting to note that when we asked the kids what the word division means, they had a hard time not using the word “equally”. We had to correct that quickly. Unlike division at school, division of labor does not necessarily come out equally. Of course The Hubby and I are going to do more work than Owlie or RedDog. We also expect that our two teenagers can shoulder a larger portion of the “burden” than their siblings because they are older, stronger, smarter, get paid more allowance and are closer to leaving us for the real world.

They did not love this idea. They kept going back to it being fair and equal. But that is not the real world. And we are trying to prepare our kids to be successful in the real world.

We also had to have a long discussion about entitlement. We do not owe our kids money. It is something they earn by contributing to our family and home. We live in the “Wealthiest County in the Nation” and the entitlement attitude of the kids in this area is blatantly obvious and blatantly fed, but that is not what we desire for our children.

We want them to know that working hard for something brings results and a sense of ownership that cannot come from being handed it without effort. Real life stuff.

I am happy to report that three Lee children left for school today with their beds made and their lunches self-packed.  Will it last? I think so.

Why, you ask? Because they’ve been told that if they don’t work they can pay their allowance directly into a date fund for me and their dad.

Yep. The Meanest Mom In The World reigns supreme.