Should kids do chores? Should they have responsibilities? Or should they just be a kid and have fun all day? Well my quick answer to all the questions above is a big fat…YES!

My G-Sons do daily chores, all four…If I cook, then Krystal washes the dishes. Yes, we still wash dishes by hand, we have never used the dishwasher in this house or any house we have lived in! When we eat we always sit at the table and gather hands and say as loud as we can “WE LOVE OUR FAMILY” unless we forget, but I would say 99% of the time we say it.

The two older boys change seats every day, depending on where they sit, is the chore they do for that day. Exp. if Collin sits at the head of the table he cleans the table, cleans the counters and sweeps the dining room and kitchen floors. If Collin sits at the opposite end of the table he puts away the dishes, cleans the back counter and sweeps the living room and hallway. And vis versa for Matthew. One of them is cleaning the table while the other one is putting away the dishes. Every Day!

Once food is prepared Mathew get drinks for him and the twins. Collin get drinks for his mom, me and himself. The twins have been taking turns with one of them getting the silver ware and the other one getting napkins for everyone.

The two older boys also now have Guinea Pigs. Yea!! Not really! I don’t think they were ready for them, but who am I? Matthew got Whiskers for his birthday and because they are very social animals, you cant have just one. So we got Collin’s Mr. Fluffy Pants, Yes you heard me! Collin named him, (he didn’t like Mick Jagger). They have to clean the cage nightly. We were having them do it twice a day, but that was too much work for us…You know the Reminding them twenty times a day to do it, over and over and over etc…

So Collin cleans the cage one night and Matthew cleans it the next, and on and on. Collin also clamed our dog (Gizmo) she is part Shih Tzu and Yorkshire Terrier. He has the responsibility of making sure she is feed daily. They both vacuum and Collin sometimes has to clean the carpet upstairs.

Nothing too crazy for the boys, I do feel they need to be responsible for things around the house. They need to understand things don’t just happen. It takes someone to keep the house decent. By no means is our house perfect! It will never be on a top cleanest house list. However with everyone’s help we have a nice home to live in.

Both boys like to help cook, more Matthew than Collin. I love to have them help, although it can be stressful, I’m always worried they will get burned or something. And boys just like girls needs to contribute to keeping their home a nice place to live. We don’t as of yet give the boys allowances, we have talked about it.

Just because we expect the boys to help out doesn’t mean it is always easy to get the job done. Collin will hurry and complete his job…we usually have to make him redo some of his work. And Matthew, well Matthew is one of those kids, that is usually the loudest person in the house. And if he doesn’t want to do something, it could be a challenge to get him to finish.

Over all I think our system works, I believe working together to achieve our little goals makes life much easier and happier for everyone. Hopefully by learning to contribute as boys when they are men they will understand their role in their home is much more than just waiting for someone to do for them.

They are being raised by two strong women. Who are determined to make sure all four boys are going to grow up to be productive, respectful & caring men that honor and respect the people in their lives.

So I believe, 100%, without a drought kids should do choices!