Have you ever gone on a mile hike on a new trail? It seems long. You don’t know the way, and not knowing where it will end, it seems to go on and on and on. With each bend, you think you have surely reached the waterfall by now. On the trail back, the hike seems more doable. It always surprises me how fast the trek back goes. Knowing the end is in sight makes the path seem short.
I’ve learned something from my kids lately. Something I think I knew, but forgot. Setting a time limit on any work you are requiring from kids (or husband, for that matter) makes the task much more manageable.
I get up Saturday morning eager to do amazing things with our “working day”. Irrational goals loom, as in: clean the whole house, plant the whole garden, clean out the entire playroom and organize all the toys in bins, cook and freeze a month worth of meals, prune the whole orchard, sort out all our homeschool books, and other unreasonable objectives. I have the zeal for the project, but not everyone in the family shares my enthusiasm, unfortunately. When kids feel like you are going to work, work, work them, with no end in sight, it feels like a life sentence. My kids ask, “How long?”. I want to say, “Til we’re done!”. But when I give them a time limit, it really does feel more manageable to them. And they are happier workers. And I appreciate their effort more.
Sure, I would like them to work all day long on my urgent project, but an hour of energetic effort is far better than nothing. An hour from several kids and a husband can progress the job along amazingly far. And having a time limit makes them more cooperative workers, seeing an end in sight. There’s hope. This is not an eternally unlimited work-a-thon.
Knowing that I won’t work her all day long, even my “I-hate-bugs-worms-and-dirt” daughter will cheerfully plant the lettuce seedlings into the garden (with a few screams here and there).
Set a time limit. It really helps!
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Whenever I clean (even during the week) I set the timer for 10 minutes. My 3 year old knows that when it goes off Ill spend some time doing something for her then Ill do another 10 minute cleaning session. I find that it really helps her understand Im not ignoring her and she doesn't feel left out because Im cleaning. A lot of the time she will set aside whatever it is she wants to do at the end (usually either a game or reading a book) and pitch in with whatever Im doing. Double the joy because I get to spend time with my daughter and get a clean house.
My 18 month old is starting to pick up on it to, makes cleaning a whole lot easier when I don't have the two of them trying to get my attention the entire time Im cleaning.
Great ideas! Setting a time limit for myself helps a lot, too. I'm more motivated to get as much done as I can in the given amount of time, and I know that when the timer goes off, I move on to the next goal. It's made everyday household chores much more manageable for me!
Beautiful picture. Love the time limit for chores. Makes for everyone's happiness.
We share the same "irrational goals"! I want to tackle the world all at once as well. I agree that time limits really help. I ♥ the picture – so cute!
Quotas and incentives help, too! When my kids want to play with friends and the family room is littered with toys, crayons, legos, etc., I call out, "Everyone pick up thirty things — then you may play with friends." The room is clean in less than five minutes. (A handful of legos or crayons counts as one "thing").