Why I Allow My Children to be Slackers!

I'm not good at consistency. As my little buddy Johnathan would of said, "not at all".

I don't vacuum but maybe once a month. The floors get mopped maybe 3 times a year. I clean my bathroom clean when it's gross. I mean REALLY gross.

I don't cook dinner every night. That doesn't mean we get take out on the nights I don't cook, it means the people in this house have to fend for themselves. If they are lucky there is leftovers, bread, or hot dogs in the house on those days.

I get to deal with the consequences of said "laziness".

I don't vacuum, because my children do. But they don't do a great job of it. So, that means I don't have the cleanest of floors but maybe once a month when I decide to vacuum for them.

We "spot" mop most of the time, the floor gets visibly dirty in on the hard floors I hand a spray bottle and a rag to a shorter person (usually the 8 yo) and tell them to clean it. I can live with that.

The bathroom? Well, the kids clean that, too. They are still learning what MY definition of clean is, so it builds up yuck around the toilet on the floor, under the seat, and around the sink faucet... then I clean it WITH them when I can't stand it no more or if we are having company over.

The kids are also responsible for the dishes, most of the dog care, bird, chickens, folding laundry, and whatever else I tell them to do.

I get lazy sometimes. I have days I don't want to be a responsible adult and "keep up" with the housework that I am responsible for. So I don't. I pick my priorities and I leave the rest for another day. It will get done. Just like when my daughter or son hasn't done their dishes for 3 days straight and we have no cups.

We live with the consequences and we move on. They get done and it's usually STILL a fight, but they are learning WHY we do the dishes more than once every three days. It takes less time and is more sanitary to do them daily. But if I let them "fail" they see and live the consequences. Then maybe, just maybe, they will remember that when they have their own home and do the dishes everyday...until they have their own minions in the form my of grandchildren. Then I hope my children will in turn give their children the grace to be lazy sometimes.

And frankly I think my way is working just fine if the 12  year old is singing while he does his work.