Ohmystinkinheck

I’m telling ya, once my kids can stand on a stool and turn on water, I begin to implement my child labor training program.

• If you can wash your hands, you can rinse your plate.
• If you can bend at the waist without falling, you can feed the cat and put your dish in the dishwasher.
• If you can take off your clothes you can put them in the dirty clothes.
• If you can put your clothes in the dirty clothes, you can begin learning the difference between a warm, hot or cold wash.
• If you can crumple paper, you can fold a washcloth, hand towel, or cloth napkin.
• If you have the dexterity to use a crayon, you are fully capable of wiping down the kitchen table after the family eats.
• If you can eat an egg, you can gather the eggs.

I’m serious about distribution of chores in this family of 5. Otherwise I would never have time to sit around on my bum and blog.

23 Responses to “Proof that even princesses do dishes.”

1. clearlydistracted

   Cloth napkins? With three little kids? I’m impressed.

2. Friglet

   Can I send all four of my kids to you for some training? Including the one that’s already moved out?!

3. OMSH

   Friglet, I’m sorry, but I’ll have to refrain - I’m having a heck of a time with my own. Every once in a while they rebel and we have to implement shock therapy (like taking away American Girls or pronouncing bed-time a 1/2 hour earlier).

4. frugalmom

   Nice. My house sounds just like that. Just this evening I had to change dinner chores around a bit due to poor technique. I am all for delegating.

5. Jodi

   Ha. Perfect! Well stated and photographed.

6. MMM

   1. I still want that baby’s hair!
   2. I licked the screen when I saw your dishes.
   3. Good gauge as to when they should do those things.

7. MMM

   PS~Did she have to read the directions to take the lid off??

8. Jill - GlossyVeneer

   I grew up in a house with even distribution of the chores. One of us set the table, one washed the dishes, we each had an assigned cleaning task… And we liked it that way. My brother and I are both trying to implement that in our households. Kind of hard for me when we have no kids and the concept is completely foreign to my spouse. His mom did everything.

9. OMSH

   clearlydistracted - oh yes, certainly cloth napkins. We’ve been doing that since te 2nd child was a wee little baby.

   frugalmom - poor technique … bwahahaha … exactly. That’s why you don’t see Kenny loading … he’s much better at pushing the dirty clothes hamper across the tile to the laundry room.

   MMM - you are too clever

   Jill - I grew up an only child and there was no one to share “even distribution of the chores”. When one of mine gets to hollerin’ I remind them they could have ALL the chores to do. Sometimes that actually works for about 30 seconds.

10. Laura/PinkFontGirl

    hehe…a) i love your dishes, b) i love that child’s hair!!, c) i like the “gathering eggs” one..feels all nostalgic (not that i ever did that, but you get what i mean. lol), and d) i don’t even know the difference between wash cycle temps. but that’s probably because the washer here only has hot and cold anyhow so i don’t really care. is that environmentally unsound of me? probably :/

11. OMSH

    Laura/PinkFontGirl
    a) Thank ya … I grew up with one of my grandparents having Fiestaware and I lerv it from the heart of my bottom.
    b) Meredith’s hair is certainly amazing. We all want it. Okay so maybe not Jeff and Kenny.
    c) Gathering eggs is therapeutic, yes.
    d) I wash only ONE load a week in hot - and that is socks, undies and undershirts. Everything else is either warm (blue jeans, work pants, colored socks, grey or light colored clothing), and everything else in cold . Saves us money and cuts back on time (a hot wash takes a heck of a long time to fill/refill).

12. frugalmom

    I second the cloth napkins. We actually just began using them and I love it. So much better then buying the paper ones all the time. I usually try to find them at the thrift shop! The kids are pretty good at the chore thing, however there are the times when they get that not so good idea of rebelling about them.

13. Heather AKA Epiphany Alone

    OMSH, I am totally swiping those rules for my girls! Well, certainly for the one who can hold a crayon and crumple paper.

    I’ve had to start doing laundry every other day to offset piles of clothes from a newly table food eating baby. I noticed my water bill has doubled in the past few months…Yikes! Thanks for the money-saving tip about whites. I’m going to try that.

14. OMSH

    Heather AKA Epiphany Alone - if you have a top loader try this:

    I fill it with hot water - add in my Arm & Hammer detergent and a scoop of Oxyclean. Then, I let it agitate - adding in the whites. Close the lid and pull the knob so it’ll sit for a good 2 to 3 hours. Gets out most every stain my kids have ever put on their clothes - including stained socks and panties *ahem*.

    Push the knob in and let the cycle finish out.

    Keeps me from having to use bleach but maybe once every 4 months or so (and for that - primarily for the bottom of socks - to whiten them up again).

    frugalmom - I have papertowels, but we use them sparingly.

15. Ren

    I am printing out your guidelines and will post them throughout the house! Love it! I might even send it to my Dad so that he can begin to train my little brother who is 16 and has yet to rinse a dish.

16. OMSH

    Ren - are you serious? A 16 year old who can’t rinse a dish. Poor, poor future wife.

17. Cathy

    LOL! I love this post! There’s so much truth in it! I linked to your blog on Monday, I hope that’s ok, and it’s because of posts like these. I love your blog and your personality!

18. Big R

    You have my dishes!! I love those dishes. Anyway, I think I will be starting the child labor thing in my house…wonder if it works on husbands?

19. OMSH

    Cathy - yes, please do feel free to link to me. Linky love is always nice. And thank you for your kind words. A few kudos here and there seem to always come at the right time. :)

    Big R - Thankfully I have a husband who was born to work. He can’t sit down. That also means he falls asleep during movie dates and isn’t worth much after 9:00 p.m. Hahaha

20. Mom2Six

    I have the same theory on chores. Isn’t it wonderful?

    As for gathering the eggs, the nest boxes with opening backs you mentioned before are wonderful–until the chickens decide that it is much more fun to build a nest in the far corner of the coup and lay there. Mine all rebelled together, and my two-year-old is so frustrated at not being able to gather eggs. (We latch the coup up high or the chickens will hang out on my back porch, making deposits).

    Anyway, my seven-month-old is very good at crumpling paper. Do you think I could really teach him to fold wash cloths?

21. OMSH

    We are almost done with the coop. And we are hoping *fingers crossed* that they will actually lay IN the nest boxes … so far it is their preference in the chicken tractor.

    We also have to keep the chickens secured behind a 4 ft fence (and clipped their wings) to preserve the sanctity of the back porch’s concrete, and subsequently, our shoes.

    Hmmm… the 7 month old is questionable.
    I’m thinking 3 or 4 year old crumblers.

22. Honor your children and teach them to work. | Oh My Stinkin Heck - How in the heck did you find me?

    [...] I purported I had proof that even princesses do dishes there was only slight hyperbole. For instance, I wrote, “If you can crumple paper, you can [...]

23. dcrmom

    Love this. I really should implement some child labor around here.