The boys have chores. Yes, chores.
Each week they have three to do. At the end of the week, if they’ve done all their chores, they each get a dollar. One chore - making their beds - stays the same each and every week. The other two chores change. Every Sunday, Benjamin and Nicholas take turns choosing jobs, which are written on colorful popsicle sticks, (English on one side, French on the other) out of a jam jar. In turn, Ben and Nicholas will close their eyes tight (well…kind of), and carefully choose (peeking, I’m sure) their popsicle sticks. They love choosing their chores! Doing them? Well, we’re getting there…
I write their choices on our chore chart, and my bugs have fun putting stars on the chart as they complete each job, each day.
The chores are all pretty simple: set the table, clean the table, feed the dog, open the blinds….and mostly the boys help me, as opposed to doing the chore on their own. The point is definitely not to lessen my load of housework. In fact, it is often way, way easy and a whole lot faster for me to just do the job myself. But, having the boys pitch in and help, as much as they can given their age, is a great way to teach them about sharing, contributing, and earning. And boy, do they love that dollar bill each Sunday!
Those hard-earned dollars were put to use this past Monday. I made a trip to the outlet mall for some early Christmas shopping, and my little big-spenders were each allowed to take five dollars out of their piggy banks to spend on whatever they chose – provided that they behaved while I shopped (bribery, you say? I call it incentive). I sealed five one-dollar-bills each in two separate baggies, and off we went to shop.
Guess where the boys headed the minute that they got the green light for good behavior? The Disney Store! No surprise there.
Benjamin wandered around the store for awhile, asking me the cost of this toy and that. It was cute:
“Mommy, how much is that?” He would ask, pointing to a box full of Toy Story figurines.
“$40,” I said.
“Oh,” Ben replied. “Not enough. What about that?” He picked up a Cars matchbox set.
“$20,” and I put it back.
“Hmmmm…..still not enough,” Ben said, referring to his allowance in the baggy.
After about 15 minutes or so of this, Ben and Nicholas happened back on the Cars section of the store. Each picked up a Mater figurine, on sale for two for $12. They both wanted the same toy. Perfect, I thought to myself.
“How about this,” I said. “If you put your money together, you’ll have almost enough to buy two Maters. Together you have $10. I’ll give you the extra two dollars that you need.”
Benjamin decided that this was a good deal. Nicholas followed along, and we made our way to the cash to pay.
The boys handed their toys to the sales associate, and immediately gave her their baggies of dollar-bills. I explained that they were spending their own allowance to buy a special treat. The associate gave the boys stickers as she rang up their purchases. The total came to a little over $12. The associate counted out the boys ten one-dollar-bills. As I opened my wallet to make up the difference, the store manager, who had been watching our exchange, stopped me:
“Why not give them the 25% family and friends discount?” She said to her associate. “Nicholas spells his name with a C, just like my son.” I had written the boys’ names on their baggies.
The associate gave us the discount, and the total came to just around $9.50.
“Look Ben and Nicholas,” I said. “You have enough money to buy your cars all by yourself!”
Now, I can’t say that Nicholas cared much about that. He was getting a new Mater toy. Enough said. But, Benjamin got it. He gave me a huge toothless grin, and thanked the sales associate and her manager as his Mater was bagged. Benjamin was proud.
And I was thankful for the small act of kindness that let my sons make their first, independent purchase. It might not seem like a lot, but it was.
xo Naomi
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