About Me

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I am a 29-ish yr old married mother of 8. My family is my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. My darling husband is my very best friend and together we are raising 8 of the best kids in the world! They are Rose(12) Sarah(12) Ammon(10) Malachi(8) Gabriel(7) Hannah(5) Maggie(4) and Abbie(3) We currently own 2 dogs, 1 bird, 5 chinchillas, 1,000,000 rabbits, 1 cat, 4.5 horses, and one ferret. We just purchased a home that is definately a "fixer-upper", with land and room for the kids to roam. Our goal is to run a mostly self sustaining farm and live in peace as we grow as a strong family unit. We have seen our fair share of hardships, but we are thankful for the many blessings the Lord gives us on a regular basis!

Friday, February 11, 2011

An inconvenience

Here's a tip...
If you are having a challenge with getting your child to do tasks that you ask them to do, when you ask them to do them, inconvenience them!
For instance, when your daughter is supposed to scoop the litter and "forgets", wake her up at 11:30 pm when she is sound asleep. Tell her that she forgot that she promised she would have it done by the end of the day, and she only has 30 minutes left to get it done.
Or, if your son leaves the leftovers on the table and forgets to take them out to the chicken after you have asked him to three times, don't yell or spank. Wait until his FAVORITE tv show is on. You know, the one he's been waiting all week to watch? Tell him right in the middle of the "good part" that he needs to do it right then... and MAKE him.
I promise you that the next day, they will be much more willing to do what they are asked when they are just working on homework.
:)

8 comments:

Renae said...

Hi! I'm "spying" back. I love to make new cyber friends!!!

That inconvenience idea is BRILLIANT!! I'm going to have to try that one!

Eight kids, and about a million animals... you must be a saint!

Thanks for saying Hi!

Stephanie said...

I love the way you obviously delight in your wisdom! ;-). When your kids are parents, they'll understand. I'm sure they'll even take a page or two from your book.

Divyam said...

i'm blessed, for my mom doesn't follow your blog. . . . Sigh. .
God !!! They're just kids. . You can expect that lazyness from the kids, no ?? Its a part of them as they're childs, not in teens, even.

leschornmom said...

Umm... actually I don't think I SHOULD expect that laziness from my children. Though I must admit that I do.
I am sad to say that is one of my bigest issues with parenting.
I know there are many cultures that expect work to be done first and then play. I am of the mindset that Americans have become far to lazy.
Parents today are too busy running around to different activities to focus on teaching therir children how to be young adults. It makes me sad to see young adults floundering in the world with little to no work ethic and no basic home skills.
I once knew a 23 yr old that didn't know how to work a washing machine. I had to show her how to do laundry and cook basic foods.
Even some of my youngest kiddos are capable of those things.
I admit redily that I lack in many skills as a mother and also fight the tendency to be lazy. I am trying to help my children not have to fight those natural tendencies as they reach adult hood.

Divyam said...

hehe. . Lol
one of my friends doesn't know, how to tie up the filaments of shoes, even. .
N i didn't mean that. . You must be excellent at parenting. . You two're handling everything with great excellency. I salute your passion for life.
Though. . I was just saying that it would not be the best thing to make kids drop their fav. Shows. . Afterall, they deserve that much life. .

Ranee said...

More power to ya'! I completely agree with this way of thinking! Since you can't MAKE your kids do what you want them to, inconveniencing them will do the trick. Especially if you say "Oh, darn! You didn't do what I asked and now you've drained my energy! What are you going to do to put it back?" This works well, if you withhold a privilege, until after they've made things right. They'll think twice about doing things right the first time! :0)

Ranee said...

To be more specific, I agree with YOU, Erica! :0)

leschornmom said...

Servitor, I re-read my reply to you and realized it sounded a bit snarkey. I'm sorry for that. It's interesting to get a younger person's oppinion of things. Thanks for the input! Really!

Ranee, I love you!