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I would firstly like to state that I am not an advocate of homework in primary school. I will avoid jumping up on to my soap box here, but will say that Alfie Kohn has written an excellent book called the The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing. By following this link you can listen to an interview with Alfie Kohn about homework.

However even with my philosophical opposition to homework my children do have to do homework. Once children reach grade three at the school they attend, they are expecting to complete on average 15 - 30 minutes homework a night. Hence, we have been at this homework thing for almost two years now, but it has probably taken until about half way through this year until we really have established a good homework routine.

With out going into all the gory details, some of the issues that we came across were:

- homework being left to the last minute.

- rushing tasks.

- mum interfering.

- frustration from both child and parents.

- things getting misplaced.

- tasks taking much longer than really needed.

While all is not perfect and there are still the occassional intense discussion over homework, the process that has evolved through trial and error, does work quite well for us. Here are some tips that we have found to aid the homework process for both parents and child.

(1). Homework is the child’s responsibility.
For a long time, I was really wearing the responsibility of the homework. I was checking at the start of the week what had to be done and would check through out the week that it was being done. I would then review the homework to make sure it was completed.

Thinker didn’t need to worry about his homework because I did for him! I met with his teacher and explained that I was no longer going to be doing this. (Thinker has an excellent teacher.) She was very supportive of this and I explained that it was important that the stated consequences for non completion of homework would be enacted if it came to this.

Thinker was probably the happiest person about my decision to back off. He (quite rightly!) was resenting my “nagging” and since I handed over full responsibility he has had no problems handing his homework in and I don’t have to nag.

(2). Designated Homework Area
For too long, Thinker was doing homework in a variety of places. Upstairs in the study on the dining table etc. When we made the above change, as part of the changed process we placed a desk in his room and this is now the only place where he is to do his homework.

(3). Part of Routine
Although the homework from school is an averaged amount of time per night, this is not realistic for us with after school activities. Thinker doesn’t do homework (he still has reading) on the two nights he has after school activities, but works for greater periods of time on the other nights.

(4). Parents to assist with the process, not the content
It is important that I am still available to assist Thinker when he requests. We have set guidelines around this though, for example he cannot expect that I can help when I am in the middle of cooking dinner, so he needs to plan when he would like my assistance.

What I have learnt to do, is to not focus on the content of the homework, but what is the logical process that he should follow to successfully complete this task and discuss this with him. For example, if he has to write a speech to present to the class, we talk about what is the logical structure of a speech on this topic - intro, arguments to fill time limit, conclusion etc. I make sure he writes this down - his mind can wander and by having something to refer back to he can continue on with his task.

(5). My Attitude
As stated above, I am not an advocate of homework in primary school. Thinker was aware of this and it was affecting his attitude to his homework. I had to discuss with him another of my strongly held beliefs - if we have committed to something we must follow through to the best of our ability.

By enrolling him at his school, we effectively committed to their rules. While he is there I will expect him to complete homework to the best of his ability regardless of my philosophical opposition to homework. (Yes I know, what a hypocrite .)

(6). Minimise Distractions
Thinker shares a room with his brother and the other siblings are often in and out of his room. When he is doing homework this is not to happen. At first for some reason, this seemed to make it more necessary that they all had to go in to his room and tell him stuff, but we have all gotten used to the idea now.

(7). Resources
As well as having a designated area for homework, we made sure he has all the things he needs to complete his homework. This includes not only stationary, but also things like a dictionary and a pin board.

Thinker works well with visual reminders. He can pin his homework to the pin board in his room at the start of the week and it helps him organise what he needs to do.

(8). Model Research Skills
I find children learn so much by watching and quite often when they don’t realise that they are being taught something. I do quite a bit of research for some of the posts on this blog and I will quite often show Thinker what I am doing (if I think that it is a topic that will interest him).

There are also plenty of real life opportunities to use as well - researching school holiday activities, buying presents for people, solutions to garden issues and lots more. Thinker’s dad has to do numerous presentations for work, so this also provided opportunities to show how important research skills are and that they are not just a homework task.

(9). Fed and Watered
Thinker eats a lot and I make sure he has had adequate afternoon tea, before he even starts his homework. Thirst and hunger can be massive distractions!

(10). Time Limit
Thinker does love to learn and can get quite absorbed in some of his projects for homework. This does however mean that he will spend a great deal of time on them. As with all activities there needs to be balance, so it is sometimes necessary for us to set time limits for him to complete the task.

For example recently Thinker had to turn his research into a Power Point presentation. Thinker loves Power Point and would have spent hours adding pictures, animations and sound affects. We set a time limit (generous though as to not to squash his enthusiasm) to make sure that he was still having time to go outside and play.

What tips have you come across during your homework journey? What would you avoid?

Technorati Tags: children, homework, parenting

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A regular reader emailed me asking what we did at bath time and for any tips that I might have making these part of the day easier.

As with all topics I discuss on the blog, I can relate what has worked for us. Families are unique creations, so what works for us, may not for others, but I always find it beneficial to hear what others do. Parts that I like I will test out and if they work will adapt to our daily life.

So with that said, this is what we do to make bath time a happy time!

Part of the daily routine
I know that children don’t need necessarily to have a bath every day, but for my small children routine is like a warm security blanket. They know that after we have finished dinner, we make our way to the bath. For the older two (who have short showers) they can organise this themselves.

Fun Toys
The majority of toys in the basket in the bathroom are not actually proper bath toys! They are old soap pump packs, shampoo bottles, a tea set and a container of plastic daisies (not sure of the real name but they are a disc shape toy that they connect together and make things out of).

These toys actually allow the children to experiment with basic mathematical concepts, like empty and full, heavy and light and practice motor skills with pouring water, pushing the pump action, squeezing the bottles and connecting the daisies.

Expectations
I have firm expectations that water must stay in the bath. If there is (excessive) water on the floor then the children have to clean up the mess after they have had their bath.

Not too long
I find that if the children are in the bath for more than 10 minutes then that is when niggling and complaining starts. In about 10 minutes they have enough time to play and relax and clean themselves.

Puppet Face Washers
I find that these are a great way to encourage children to clean themselves. We have a dinosaur and a duck and were lucky enough to receive them as gifts, but they can be picked up quite cheaply where ever you can buy towels.

Attitude
I keep my attitude towards bath time positive and talk about it as a nice way to relax at the end of their day.

If you have tips on how to make bath time easier, I would love it if you could leave them in the comments. The more information my reader has on the subject, will give her more choice on what to apply for her family. Thanks for your help!

Also if you have any questions you would like to see me answer on the blog, please feel free to send them through and I will work my way through them.

Technorati Tags: bath time, children, parenting

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I usually do not give the Olympic Games much thought. On the whole I am not a great fan of the concept, but it usually does not bother me too much. This year’s games are different however. Human rights are an important issue to me and I have felt a large degree of animosity towards the hype of the games in the mainstream media and the lack of attention China’s human rights record has received.

I would like to point out here, that I am acutely aware that Australia’s track record is not perfect. (We have only just seen moves to end mandatory detention of refugees here last week.) But the hype of the Olympics and how my children see this is a concern to me.

A couple of months ago, I raised my concerns with my eldest child. He considered my concern for a few moments and then as children will, tried to determine what was the impact of my concern on him.

“Are you going to not let me watch the Olympics?”

Part of me would have liked to say yes, but in all honestly other than depriving him of school playground conversation, I am not sure if that would have achieved all that much. Instead we talked about what were some other alternatives.

In the end we agreed that for he and Little Rascal, I would share with them news articles which were giving an honest assessment of what was happening in the lead up and then during the Games. This would supplement what ever other information they were absorbing on this topic.

As such the two older children have learnt the following in the last few months:

- From BBC world that millions have been evicted from their homes to make way for Olympic development.

- From The Age that black people and Mongolians are not to be served in bars in the lead up or during the Games

- From Amnesty International that Yahoo handed over information to Chinese authorities, that saw Shi Tao imprisoned for 10 years for sending an email.

- And from The Age again, the most recent fuss to make the media headlines (but which has been around for a long time) censorship of the internet by the Chinese Government.

The Olympic Games have been incorporated into the children’s learning at school and they are having a mini Olympics on Friday afternoon. Understanding the “Olympic Ideal” and the philosophy behind the game does not bother me, the Games are part of our ancient and modern history and need to be understood.

But as a politically interested and active person, I will continue to discuss China and other human rights issues with the children. I am trying to get a balance between not burdening them with too much information, but still creating awareness of contentious, important issues. Not sure if the scales are even just yet, but I will keep trying to tinker until I get them to balance!

How do you approach issues like the Beijing Olympics vs Human Rights?

Technorati Tags: Beijing Olympics, children, parenting, political awareness

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This is the first guest post on Planning With Kids and I am very proud that it comes from my gorgeous husband! Here is his experience from trading roles with me last week (completely unedited!!!).

Back in 2003, Anika Sorenson (world #1 female golfer) addressed the media after her final round in a men’s tour event. She said,

“It was a great week but I’ve got to go back to my tour, where I belong. I’m glad I did it, but this is way over my head”.

While I feel this quote in some way aligns to my recent experience, I can confidently say its not a perfect reflection.

You will recall from last week’s Role Reversal Experience post, last week I traded my office desk and chair for 5 days in the role as a stay at home parent. I performed all the tasks Planning Queen normally would, from making the lunches to walking the kids to school, taking Possum to dance class to making 5 evening meals in succession. Apart from only very minor, but much needed assistance, PQ did very well to refrain herself getting involved. I was thrown in the deep-end, and had some very interesting learning’s:

1. The role of the primary carer is fundamental to teaching the kids good habits in preparation and timeliness. My attitude and approach becomes a beacon for how the kids react to obstacles and issues.

2. Hey, I can cook an evening meal! I love a good process which is what PQ gave me with her simple recipes.

3. Don’t put butter on sandwiches when the kids have told you three times already….…it can get nasty!

4. It takes time to re-wire your everyday activities. Day 1 and 2 were murder however by Friday I was on the ball with routine, process and maneuvering through roadblocks (see point 3).

5. It also takes time to re-wire the kids view of the “goto parent”. PQ normally gets afternoon tea, except for last week. PQ normally organizes lunches, except for last week. In some way, last week may have altered their perception of my role. Ongoing involvement could now re-enforce it.

6. It’s OK to forget someone’s name if you haven’t seen them in months. It’s not OK if it’s only a matter of days. (Apologies to some of the kinder and school mum’s.)

7. Playing games with the kids is most enjoyable when there are no outside distractions or time pressures. Unfortunately busy weekends, pre-sleep periods and a mind half on the office are not conducive to increasing fun. I need to change this!

8. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Attempting too many tasks, just like at the office, results in a sub-optimised outcome, anxiety and frustration.

9. Chose a better week to conduct a Role Reversal than the final mountain week of the Tour de France. Late nights wear you down.

10. As apron-culture states, “Kiss the Cook” for the wider home-role they perform. Life without it would be messy, undisciplined, lethargic and average.

This week I used a different skill set to conduct a role for a sustained period which fortunately isn’t “way over my head”. While I did struggle earlier in the week, I was well and truly in the groove and enjoying what it gave me by the end of the week. In fact, this observation was made by a mum who recently changed from full-time employment to full-time stay-at-home mum.

While I definitely could get used to it, I’m conscious that “I’ve got to go back to my tour, where I belong”. Like so many others, other pressures and objectives dictate this.

Cheers
Mr Infrastructure

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This week Mr Infrastructure kindly took a week’s holiday leave, so he could stay home and allow me time on projects that I needed to work on. The Role Reversal Experiment has been an interesting insight for both of us.

We agreed that I would work a similar schedule to Mr I’s hours. We have an upstairs study and that was to be my “office” for the week. I would come up at the same time Mr I would usually leave for the train (approx 7.15am) and work until after 6pm. On a good day, Mr I is home by 6.45pm, but there are many late nights that go significantly past that - but 6pm was enough for me!

Naturally there was flexibility through out my day and assistance given as required, but on the whole MR I was running the show.

This is what I have learned so far:

I miss doing the daily stuff with the kids. Things like the walks to school, the pick ups, helping them with their reading or homework and hearing about their days. They are not so interested in repeating the news of their day a second time around much later in their day.

The children can cope without me! When both mum and dad are both around the children still come to me and as such I tend to do the majority of the primary care. I probably need to let go a bit and empower dad to deal with these daily issues.

When Mr I puts his mind to it, he can actually cook.

Due to my behaviour, the children expect an ordered and routined life. For some of the children, if dad did things slightly different to me, they were not always happy about it.

I love being home full time with the children.

Mr I will guest post next week to share what he learned from the experience. Sometimes it is good to see if the grass is really greener on the other side!

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I strongly encourage my children to  make attempts to solve their own problems, as are appropriate for their ages.  I want them to know that they can come to me for help, but that they need to be responsible for solving the problem.  This like all things in the parenting handbook does not work perfectly!   There are times when for the health and safety of all concerned mum has to step in, but in general these are some of the things that I do, to help the children solve their own problems:

(1).  Have clearly defined limits and be consistent in implementing them.
Once children know what is or isn’t allowed,  children can then start to identify, evaluate and select appropriate solutions to their problems. 

(2).   Help children understand their emotions.
It is difficult to think clearly when you are very angry or frustrated.  By teaching children to understand and be able to label their emotions, they can then begin to distinguish their emotions from the problem and find workable solutions.

(3).  Ask thoughtful questions.
This is particularly helpful for younger children, as it will encourage logical thinking processes without ownership of the problem changing to the parent.

(4).  Guide them to break the problems into chunks.
A little like teaching them to read a new difficult word, by breaking it down into smaller parts, it can make the problem not seem so overwhelming.

(5).  Assure them that you know that they can deal with the problem.
Often it can be a habit for children to come directly to mum or dad when problems arise.  If you know that they are easily capable of solving the problem (and they haven’t even tried yet!), explain that  you have confidence in their ability to give this problem some thought and find a workable solution.   

(6).  Don’t rush in to solve their daily problems.
And this means from even a very early age.  If a toddler is getting frustrated with a puzzle (age appropriate of course ), don’t take over and show them how to do it.  To learn problem solving skills, children need to develop persistence and logical thinking skills.  This can’t occur if mum or dad fixes everything for them.

(7).  Encourage creative thinking.
Solutions come from ideas.  To generate these ideas children will need to learn to think creatively.  Encouraging creative thinking through out daily life, will assist children in developing problem solving skills. 

There are many ways in which this can be done for example, writing funny stories, building blocks, construction from recycled materials, examining “what if” scenarios through to a conclusion and parents can set an example by speaking aloud, the thinking process they use to solve problems.

(8).  Give children opportunities to explore and experiment in an unstructured environment.
Children need time to follow their curiosity and play with cause and effect on their own terms. 

(9).  Allow children to make mistakes.
It is easy for an adult to see whether a child’s construction, is going to be stable enough to stand before it is completely built.  If the adult interrupts and corrects this mistake instantly, the child may not learn what was wrong.

If the child though, builds the construction, it then falls over, they then have an opportunity to solve the problem - use reasoning and logic skills to and it stable.

(10).  Teach children about empathy.
Quite often the problem a child faces is to do with another child’s wants or needs versus their own.  Although it takes time for this concept to sink in, it is helpful to  talk about empathy with children - what it is and how we should use it, at times when they are calm and are not feeling threatened.  Then when they are in a situation where they have competing needs, they can start to understand that their emotions not only the only ones involved in the situation.

In what ways do you encourage your children to solve their problems?

Tags: parenting, children, independence, problem solving

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This is the title of an interview by Andrea Sachs in Time magazine with the author of a new book called A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting. Hara Estroff Marano is the author in question and she is editor-at-large at Psychology Today magazine.

Marano believes firmly that there are now a generation of children that are growing up unable to cope with disappointment and failure.

“these kids lack coping skills because they’ve not been allowed to fully function. They are the products of parental anxiety and all the lumps and bumps have been taken out of life for them, so they have no idea how to manage the normal vicissitudes of life.”

Marano’s voice is adding to a number of social commentators who all have concerns over the resilience of the current and coming generations.

In the interview Sachs asks Marano about the importance of play and how it is currently valued by society and I thought her answer was impressive:

“Play builds brains and gives children the ability to impose self-control and creates within brain circuitry the ability to pay attention. When you look at kids playing, adults see it as a waste of time. They have no clue what play does. Vigorous social play stimulates the growth of brain cells in the executive portion of the brain in the frontal cortex, and that lays the foundation for the circuitry of self-regulation, which is what you need to pay attention when you’re at school.”

The more I read about modern parenting, the more I see “experts” encouraging parents with what seems to be a back to basics approach. Such an approach was articulated in the advice that Marano gives in her last answer in her interview with Sachs:

“One, back off and give kids some credit and some leeway to demonstrate their competence. Two, let kids play freely without monitoring. Three, eat dinner together at least five nights a week: aside from the sense of cohesiveness, it gives all that security that is the breeding ground for success. No matter where you are on the socioeconomic spectrum, it is more correlated with school adjustment and achievement than any other single thing that parents can do.”

So is this approach the new “fad” in parenting or are we just seeing a correction back from parenting that went to the extreme?

Technorati Tags: children, independence, over parenting, parenting, play

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I genuinely look forward to school holidays. I think with this long term, I have been counting down the days as much as the children have been!

Sometimes it can get a little hectic with all four home, but by balancing school holiday activities with quiet time and a positive attitude from mum, I generally end school holidays feeling refreshed and having enjoyed myself.

I have listed the reasons why I am looking forward to school holidays and from reading it just now, I am even keener for the end of this week to arrive:

(1). We can all run to a more relaxed time frame.

(2). I have the chance to spend more time with the school children.

(3). All siblings can play with each other for greater periods of time.

(4). We can catch up with friends who are at different schools or in much further suburbs away from us.

(5). There is less running around for all us (especially mum!).

(6). It is easier to break routine and do some special activities, for example friends over for dinner and for longer plays during the week.

(7). Fun activities. There are always so many fun (many of which are free) activities to do during the holidays. You can find a list for some in Melbourne in my post about Preplanning for the school holidays.

(8). More rest for the children. Some of my children are a bit tired and emotional! Balancing the fun activities with days at home pottering will help them re-energise themselves.

(9). Spend time exploring new interests the children may have. With reading, homework and the standard sporting activities, there is always time left over to devote time to being involved in new interests the children may have during the term. The school holidays is a great time to show the children you are interested in what they like.

(10). A chance to reflect and celebrate a term’s hard work!

How about you do you love or loathe school holidays?

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This was the title of a talk that I went to Thursday evening at my children’s school. It was presented by Associate Professor Nicholas Allen from University of Melbourne. He is a clinical psychologist working in the Faculty of Medicine.

I am four or so years of expecting my first adolescent, but I found his talk illuminating and stimulating about the changes my children will go through and what my role needs to be through this challenging time.

To illustrate the challenges that adolescence brings with it, Allen introduced to the audience what he called “The Health Paradox of Adolescence”. During adolescence the body is at its most healthiest and resilient stage in it’s life, yet overall morbidity and mortality rates increase from childhood by over 200%. The primary causes for this are all based around issues of control of their behaviour and emotions (suicide, depression, violence, alcohol abuse etc).

Professor Allen listed the what we could expect in typical behaviour changes of our adolescents as follows:

Experimenting with development of their “own” identity.

Greater testing of rules and limits.

Increased focus on body image, appearance and clothes.

Increased concern on themselves, alternating between high expectations and poor self esteem.

Increased moodiness and spending time in their room.

Increased attention to and influence by friends.

Decreased amount of affection shown towards parents, including rudeness and irritability.

Elevated agitation because of increased difficulty in school work and friendships.

Realisation that parents are not perfect and identification of their faults.

Although this does sound all quite negative, Allen spoke positively of the reasons why this occurred and how it is a natural part of the maturation process into adulthood.

Allen then had this advice for what families could do:

Be supportive and consistent.
Allen noted that the main predictor of the successful transition through this period was whether the home environment provided conflict or warmth. Those adolescents coming from warm home environments do much better than those with conflict.

Parents still need to help teens make decisions, but in a different way.
Moving from a more directional style of parenting to more collaboration and advisory capacity.

Be honest and direct about difficult issues. (Alcohol, drugs, smoking, sex, depression, suicide)

Promote family time.

Get to know your teens friends. Insist if you have to.

Most importantly, develop a relationship that promotes your teenagers talking to you.

Sometimes, acceptance is more important than providing direction.

Pick your battles.

I found these practical steps very a great guide future navigation of the turbulent waters of adolescence, but it was his last slide that I want to make sure that I remember:

Remember to ENJOY your adolescent.

Allen noted that adolescents can remind parents that there is new things to explore, some risks to be taken and that life doesn’t have to be the same all the time. So this period provides opportunities to find some new things to do together with your adolescent.

Allen then went on further after this to talk about a characteristic of families that I very much needed to reminded of:

A happy family will have a 5:1 ratio of positive statements to negative statements.

My contribution to this ratio needs to be improved at the moment. I remember hearing about this ratio a few years ago and trying to work with it, but have definitely fallen short with it of late. The great thing about this ratio when it is put into practice, is that it means when that one negative statement is said, it has much greater impact because it is less frequent. It is far easier to ignore the “you need to do this” or “stop doing that” if there has been a constant flow of them.

I can also see how creating the positive family base with the positive statement ratio, will be incredibly helpful when we hit the challenging period of adolescence.

Professor Allen took many questions and answered them with both theory and practical solutions. I very much appreciated him taking the time out to speak at the school and am sure that I will be re-reading this post in a few years time, looking for tips on how to deal with my gorgeous adolescent!

Have you experienced adolescence yet in your house and if so, is it as tricky as it sounds?

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My children have their set jobs which they are responsible for on a daily basis. There are times also when I want them to give me a hand with some ad hoc housework that needs to be done.

Naturally this request is not always met with glee and joy, but there are a few things that I do, which makes the process a happier and smoother one for all involved:

(1). Morning
I find that my kids are more likely to be in a helping mood in the morning that later in the day. Tiredness for the little ones is particularly a factor and for the older children they are fresher and more enthusiastic in the morning as well.

(2). Time Limit
The thought of endless cleaning or tidying is not something that brings me joy, so I can imagine it would seem like torture to the children if I suggested that we clean until everything was done!

For each child I set a time limit on how long they are expected to clean. The time varies depending upon the nature of the job and the age of the child. I tend to start with 15 minutes for the youngest and it is quite often the case that they actually want to keep working past this time.

(3). My Expectations
If I approach the communal cleaning project with the attitude that all will be completed in an orderly fashion and to a high standard, then I am going to be disappointed. The point of the communal cleaning project is to get the children contributing to the upkeep of the household, to teach them practical skills and to enjoy each other’s company.

(4). Music
Like myself, all my children love music so when we are cleaning together I let the children choose which music they would like to have on while we are working. Singing away while working, can take away some of the dullness of the job.

(5). Choice
There is generally a number of household jobs that need completing, so I like to offer the children a couple of age appropriate jobs from which they can choose the one they want to do. From this choice they feel that they are having some say in the process and are more likely to take full ownership of the the job that they choose.

(6). Demonstration
Before letting the kids start their household task, if they have not completed it before, I will take them through a very simple demonstration.

A trick which I learnt from my oldest son’s Montessori teacher in giving demonstrations to children, is not to talk too much. It is better to gain the child’s attention and allow them to watch me do the activity slowly. If I narrate each step, it can become information overload.

After the visual demonstration, I can then ask the child to break down the steps they need to do, so I can check their understanding.

(7). Autonomy
Once I have handed over the task, I need to give the child complete autonomy to do the job. There is nothing more disheartening for a child to have an adult come to them. take over the task and “show them how to do it properly”.

Going back to point three above, my expectations need to be realistic about how they will complete the task. I want the children to learn how to do these tasks properly and to do so, will more than likely need more than one attempt to get it down pat.

I can offer guidance and tips where necessary, and if I am really unhappy about the way for example the windows were cleaned, but I know the child tried their best, then I can always wait until they are in bed before I fix it up!

(8). Encouragement
I am in the encouragement camp of the praise vs encouragement debate. Encouragement focuses on the process, as opposed to the end result and does not label the child. After helping out, I want my kids to be able to make their own judgment on how they have gone.

I tend to use a before and after example to get this point across. If like in the above point they have worked on the windows, I can take them to a window that has not yet been cleaned and compare it to the one that they have worked on. I can note the hard work and patience that they put in to achieve this and reinforce how much I like clean windows!

(9). No Pay
My children receive pocket money, however it is not attached to any particular task. (For further discussion on pocket money, please read Financial Planning With Kids) So when I get my children to do extra jobs around the house, I do not pay them for it. My philosophy behind this is that they are part of the household and as such need to contribute to the upkeep and maintenance of the house.

When I am requesting their help around the house, I do not wish for it to turn into a discussion about how much each task is worth.

(10). Children’s Choice
As the children have just participated in an activity of my choice, I like to follow up communal cleaning session with a game of the children’s choice. This is generally something simple like hide and seek or maybe some wrestling.

How do you get children on board to do additional jobs around the house?

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