For whatever reason, maybe it's just the never done nature of the task, but I loathe doing laundry. I loathe laundry as much as my thirteen-year-old son loves computer games. So one day, out of pure heaven-sent inspiration (and plenty of desperation, as no one in the house had clean matching socks to wear), I presented my boy with a deal. Here it is. For every load of laundry he washes, dries, folds, and puts away neatly in our drawers, he can play online for 20 minutes. And guess what? Minus that one white-load-turned-pink casualty, the laundry-battle, and the always-asking-Mom-for-screen-time-battle, is history! I haven't done laundry for a year! Believe me. I am as surprised to hear myself say that as you are. Over the months, I have had to set some ground rules for this contract. Turns out teenagers are bright little boogers and find loop-holes pretty quickly. If you're curious about how we implement this, read on.
1. Daily chores must be done before earning any screen time.
2. All hampers in the house must be given equal attention. (Yeah, he started doing only his
own laundry there for a bit. The nerve!)
3. If all laundry is done, mom will kiss your beautiful face, but do not ask me what more you can do to earn time. You must come to me with a chore proposal. We'll talk.
4. (for moms only): If you don't have teenagers in the house yet, look forward to it! If you
already have teenagers in your house, love them like crazy, and put them to work!
Comments