As the mother of young children I had some lofty ideals of what I wanted my family’s life to look like. One of these ideals was to raise hard-working children. The type of children, and some day adults, who look around and see what needs to be done and are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and get dirty. I wanted hard-work to be part of our family’s life, a part that they would remember with fondness and be proud of what we had accomplished as a family. I also wanted my children to know, at the end of a hard day, that I loved them dearly and that I appreciated their contribution to the cause.

I would quickly learn that having an ideal and carrying it out are two very different things! My kids were fairly young when I decided it was time to have “chore lists” for them to start contributing around the house. I knew that part of my responsibility was to enforce the jobs getting done and follow through with consequences – good and bad.

I can’t say I loved the “chore list” but I didn’t hate it either. It just seemed like part of the mommy gig I had undertaken and I pressed on. After a few years, as my kids got older and I had more kids with chore lists, I realized that when I would ask who’s job it was to feed the dog, take out the trash, tidy up the bathroom, or any number of other jobs, my kids were able to very quickly point fingers at their siblings who had not done their jobs. They were quick to point out other’s shortcomings but slow to make offers to help and felt no motivation to do anything that wasn’t on their “list.” To say this was not how I had pictured things going would be an understatement.

About this time I was visiting with a friend who made the comment that with all the sport teams her kids were apart of she made sure that nothing came before “Team Family.” I loved this idea and started thinking about how I could implement this idea with my own kids.

First up – the job chart! One day I had the crazy idea that there was no reason why the jobs had to be “assigned.” What if the entire group simply worked together and we did daily and weekly jobs as a team. It was a different approach and some (By some, I mean well intending know-it-all moms who typically have as much or less experience than you do. And can, quite miraculously, have all the answers for your household in a split second. I’m sure you’ve met the type!) argued it opened up the door for some to do more work than others or any number of other faults with my new plan. Despite their tsk, tsking I was willing to take the risk and see what happened.

I have found that half the battle in implementing something new is how I present an idea. I did my best “Team Family” cheer and explained the new plan. I am not exaggerating when I say that it immediately changed the attitude and overall feeling at our house. The weekly list became a challenge – family vs list! The kids loved to see how quickly they could do the list as a team. They were so busy watching the time and encouraging others to keep moving that they forget to keep track of what others had and hadn’t done. Some weeks they work as a team and tackle one area at a time. Other weeks they all go different directions and tackle jobs on their own. Some weeks someone starts music that they can listen to as they work. Other weeks they will each have an audiobook playing while they work independently.

The best part is that the list gets done and at the end of the day the clean house was a team effort. Better than the clean house is the fact that “Team Family” can mark down another win and at the end of the day they know their siblings have their back. When the world comes at them they will know “Team Family” is there to join the fight and, together, go for the win!