Every year I’m determined to get the boys to do chores without me constantly hounding them. Every year I fail.
Today’s struggles reminded me of a text conversation last year (since it was a pre-iPhone text, I don’t have a pretty little screen shot)…
2:16pm Me: You still need to change the litter pans and mow.
<no response>
2:28pm Me: We are out of litter so Dad is bringing some on his way home from work. Go ahead and start mowing to get that off your list.
<no response>
2:46pm Me: Do you want Chipotle?
2:46pm Jimmy: Yes.
2:47pm Me: Oh, well we aren’t going to Chipotle. I just wanted to make sure you were receiving the other texts from me.
Jimmy didn’t find that trick as funny as I did. Weird.
Over the years I’ve made about 547 chore charts. Ones with cute little photos when they were too young to read. Ones with bright, cheery fonts. Ones with blatant bribes. Ones so detailed and well thought out that Super Nanny would hug me and exclaim “You don’t need me!”
But none of them worked. 
This year they got illegible scribbling on a plain piece of paper. (Eric accused me of spelling laundry wrong, but I assured him my spelling is fine…it is just my penmanship that is not.)
Some of the elaborate charts of years past took hours to create. This one took seconds.
This one is just as effective ineffective as the others.
They obviously didn’t see the “Without NAGGING!” part.
Jimmy won’t fall for the Chipotle trickery any more (I’ve tried), so after a day of frustration I resorted to outright annoyance.
It finally worked. Anyone know how to set up texts to automatically send in a continuous loop daily??
Oh, I will save you the time of trying to find the camp I mentioned in the title…
There really should be a Chore Boot Camp. Someone’s missing out on a goldmine idea I tell ya’.
I did get an idea from Google though. This one just may work.
—
P.S. You may have noticed my text is sent to “Dragon.” About a year ago, I kept accidentally sending Jim’s texts to Jimmy and vice versa. I told Jimmy I needed to change his name in my contacts so their names weren’t so similar. He said change it to Dragon. I don’t even find it odd anymore…until I see it in a post…
The wifi password works. Quickly. It is a wonderful thing.
Ha! That is awesome! My girls are younger (10, 8, & 5) so I can’t do the texting thing with them yet. I typically don’t pay them for doing chores – nobody pays me for the chores i do, right? But, this past weekend I gave them some “incentive” to earn $$ for our upcoming vacation. It was like someone lit a fire under them. Now I’m wondering if paying them might just be worth it to avoid the nagging! (Of course, to them $5 is still a lot of money.)
I really like the wifi password idea. My kids are 6 and 3 and I’ve been trying to get them to be consistent with little things…like putting their dirty clothes in the hamper and not on the floor etc. It’s not working..lol. This post is absolutely hilarious. I guess its what I have to look forward to.
I recently saw that about the wifi password and I told my hubby about that. I do plan on using that and taking away all the things that I bought son. I feel that if I am buying you things to keep you comfy at night and entertain you and you don’t help around the house then I take things away. He will be one obedient teenager… I HOPE
We’ve made our beds…THREE DAYS IN A ROW! Probably won’t happen again, so I’m celebrating today. If anyone ever does come up with a camp to make kids enjoy chores, I’d be all over it!
LOL; pretty sneaky with the text (love it)! Sometimes you really have to be creative with kids! It’s funny I just read this post, ’cause my little one (at almost 3 years old) and I just finished dusting the house together. I got her involved with household chores early and now she asks to help! It’s a wonderful thing! By the way; thanks so much for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment on my Are your kids driving you nuts post! Hope you’re having a great Wednesday.
– croppedstories@gmail.com
I think that kid`s really just like doing anything if you make it fun! You just gotta be creative.
Love the constant text, that is a great idea and one I may try!! Thanks for a fun post, and with such helpful tips!!
Oh, this is BRILLIANT. The wifi password will work like GOLD. Love it — shared it via twitter from Honest Voices, too!
Yeah, I’m thinking the wi-fi password and making them hand over their phones before bed would really help speed things up the next morning! Of course, mine are 9 and 5 now, but we gotta be prepared well in advance!!
I love the line “I just wanted to make sure you were receiving my texts” Don’t you love selective silence….. I don’t have any kids but I have a staff full of people who operate the same way 🙁
I love the line “Just checking to make sure you are getting my texts” classic! I don’t have any kids but I have a staff full of people that operate in a similar way 🙁
Great advice. Especially since these days I find that all I’m saying is “I. AM. NOT. YOUR. SERVANT.” Note to self: change Wifi password. Thanks!
Love it! I also wondered if I’d have any success starting a venture called “Labor Camp” where the kids would dig ditches or haul bags of mulch. Maybe we’re on to something!
BTW–my kids are only 4 and 5 but both have their own Kindle (thank you, grandparents with too much money). I could password-protect them when I need to!! Thanks for the idea!
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