Make 'Em Work For It

As a parent, I struggle with teaching my kids to work for what they get. In this world of over-abundance, I don't want them to expect that the world owes them anything, much less everything their greedy little hearts desire. I worry when I hear them say "I want it" and when I respond "Well, we're not getting it" they reply "But I WANT it!," thinking that wanting something badly enough somehow entitles them to get it. I want them to do chores and contribute to the family without whining and complaining the whole time... maybe that's a useless hope. But I do expect them to help out around the house, and have great desires to teach them to work hard and not be afraid of hard work.

Am I alone in this train of thought? Does anyone else feel this way?

Anyway, the reason I tell you all this is because I've been wanting to get them new scooters. Caleb still has a 3-wheeler, and Olivia's is just old and falling apart. But, I didn't want to just give them to them. So, I came up with an idea. I decided they can earn new scooters by doing 50 jobs apiece. And I didn't want it to be like "Oh, pick up five toys, that's a sticker." I've been having them vacuum entire rooms, clean 4 windows inside and out, sweep the kitchen, fold laundry, etc. Granted, Olivia has much higher abilities than her little brother, so I try to keep the jobs age-appriopriate. So far it's going well, and my house has never been so clean. This is how far they've gotten in the first week:

Little Miss Competitive always has to be sure she has the most stickers on her chart.

The enthusiasm has waned a bit, and I'm hoping they will earn their stickers by the time school is out, or in about 3 weeks total. I think that's a reasonable goal--not too much, not too little.

Or maybe it's too many jobs. They are just little kids, after all. As you can see, I'm not quite settled about this. But, I figure it's a learning experience all around. And we're seeing payoffs already. When the boys and I were at Target the other day, Caleb pointed out a toy he "really, REALLY" wanted. I told him as soon as he earned his scooter, he could work for more stickers to earn that toy. He seemed satisfied with that response.

I wonder how this little experiment will go. Will it teach them to value something they worked so hard for? Or will they just poop out and decide they don't really want new scooters after all? I'll keep you posted.