Day 60: Let's Talk About Currency

Tonight Calen had baseball practice, so Brad took him while Cam and I stayed home. Cam's first question on nights like this of course are "Can I DO CHORES?!"

I know what you're thinking. What kind of sick house do you live in where your kids WANT to do chores? Why? Are you keeping them in a cage if they don't do chores? 

Two words my friends: Screen Time. 

In our house, aside from family movie night and the occasional (go watch Netflix and get away from my face) evenings, the boys do not any sort of free reign when it comes to TV or video games. In fact, it's on complete lockdown. Not because they're being punished, but because it's not necessary. Go be kids! Go outside, play Legos, read a book, use your brain somehow. Screen time is few and far between.

I learned a while ago that monetary allowances for my kids is completely useless, at this point. Money means hardly anything, unless they want 50 cents to blow on sour patch kids at the snack shack at the baseball field, or the occasional pack of Pokemon cards. But you know what currency they LIVE for? What currency EVERY kid their age lives for, if you MAKE it a currency?

SCREEN TIME. 

And so, we figured out quickly that instead of the boys doing household chores for allowance, they do chores for screen time. It's still not every day, but usually once or twice a week I will write a few chores for each kid on the white board for them to complete for two hours of tablet or Playstation time. You know, the kind of household chores that you never want to do but needs to be done. 

I haven't washed my own baseboards in six months. 

I suppose there's some sort of life lesson in this somewhere, that "work before play" or some sort, but really, I just want them to scrub my toilets and wash my doorframes before they go rot their brain on the Playstation for the evening. 

Win-win, you guys. 

So anyways, tonight Camden scrubbed the toilet bowls (he loves doing this...weirdo), emptied the bathroom trash bins (he picks this chore, since he wants to be a garbage man) and wiped down the downstairs baseboards, and then commandeered the TV playing Star Wars: Battlefront with me for a couple of hours. So I got to play a fun video game with him, and my toilets are sparkling clean. Win-Win. Screen time is the best currency on the planet. 

Note: Camden is hilarious while playing video games, because he BOUNCES CONSTANTLY when his character is in peril, or running away from something, or shooting something, or whatever, and also yells at his A.I. allies "Rebels! May the Force be with you! Come this way and stay low!" and really makes watching people play video games a spectator sport. 

  

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