Taming the Greed Monster--with Chores

Posted by Kristi Gilbert

We are in that place in our household.

Mom, Dad, Can I have that? And that? Oooooo and THAT!!!

Oy. It's never ending. Every time we go somewhere. Or watch TV. Or the mail comes. We get bombarded with the "I wants."
When we lay down the law, of course it backfires. He screams. We try and explain. We put our foot down. He screams more. We proceed to pull our hair out. And so on and so forth.

Did we create this greed monster inside our child? Yup, we did. He currently understands this equation:

Going to the store = I get a toy
Going to Grandma's = I get a toy

Realizing our giant boo-boo and knowing that soon we will have another "wanter" in the family, I made a decision.

He must earn his keep.

Here's his chart:

There is no timeline. He has to earn checks for his actions. Mostly it breaks down to this:

• He must do what he is told without whining or complaining
• He must behave with and attempt to share with his sister without being asked
• He can do chores around the house and/or help us when we have friends over.
• Go potty and wash his hands without being reminded to.
• Clean his room without being told

So far, he has earned one small toy and can earn more when he gets more checks. He can't get checks taken away but he can lose the chance to receive a check if he backs out of a task (the old "I'm tired" trick) or doesn't finish a task (today he sprayed the window with cleaner then ran away)

If he hasn't earned his check quota by the time we head to Target, then no toy.

It's still new and frustrating but we need to reverse some damage. I want him to appreciate the things he has and earn things he wants now to foster that understanding.

Next up, saving his money. Wish us luck!

Do you have a toy-earning process in your house?

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