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Hi everybody. Melissa here at CloudMom. So those spoiled American kids back in the press
again. Like many moms, I worry about this. Every day with my kids, I'm trying to get
them to do little things around the house. Not nearly enough. I haven't started to do
regular chores as much as I should, but these are the four things that I'm trying to do
to prevent me from ending up having spoiled rotten kids. The number one thing is manners.
Manners, manners, manners, manners, manners. Looking people in the eyes when they speak,
using a nice tone, shaking hands, welcoming people when they come to the house, seeing
them out when they leave. All the things about manners and just trying to talk about how
they're gonna be respectful and acknowledge other people during the course of their day.
Number two thing, activity around meal times. I try to get them to clear their plates when
they're finished eating, throw away their napkin, push in their chair, it's not a lot.
They sometimes load the dishwasher. I don't have them doing dishes yet, but I'm trying
to get them into the habit of really contributing at this part of the day in the family. Number
three thing, self sufficiency. And this, I try to emphasize when they get home from school
which is a very chaotic time in my house. They have to come in. They have to put away
their school papers in a drawer. They have to put their shoes in the closet. One of them
even lines them up to each other which is kind of nice versus just tossing them into
the big pile. And then they have to take off their own clothes, put them away, get themselves
in the shower or bath, and our whole sort of evening ritual starts. So I'm trying that
one out. Let's see how that goes. And the fourth thing is charity. Writing notes for
people that are... That have been ill, birthday cards on their own, and then giving a third
of their very small weekly allowance which accumulates over time to a charity that they
choose. So this has been sort of a fun ritual for us. Once each child has reached a certain
amount on their small weekly allowance, we open a bank account. They save a third, they
can spend a third and they give a third away. Two of my older boys even got invited to an
event by the charity they had chosen. So that was a really nice thing. But I don't think
I'm doing nearly enough. I'm petrified of getting spoiled kids. Kids that don't contribute
to society and kids that are rude. So I really need tips, so please tell me what you're doing.
You can comment on this blog at CloudMom. You can also tweet me on twitter with any
great tips that you have. So I'll see you next time.