Eli came to me and asked if he could do a job. "Sure, how about earning $2" Eli was excited, $2 was alot. The job was to wash out and dry all of my Bountiful Baskets - not hard RIGHT?
It started out at 2$ - when we started to put out all 180 baskets Eli looks at me and says "Boy this deserves more than $2" Thinking I was smart, said "Ok Eli, how about a penny per basket" It took about 10 seconds for the response I did not think I would get, I wanted to hear Ok, but I heard this instead " Mom that is only $1.80" (darn, he is good at math) He then played the bargaining game, how about .10 cents per basket? I don't think so! 5 cents? I finally looked at him knowing that the $2 that I offered was off the table, I finally said, "Eli, how about do a good job, and when you are done, I will decide by the job that you have done, I will pay you accordingly" He actually said, "Ok Mom" It took him 1 hour to wash, and he was also very wet, and then he turned them all over to dry for 1 hour. He then had to stack them and put them away!
What did he earn, you ask? Well with much thought and so excited I did not have to do it, We decided that his job earned him $5. He was THRILLED!
What did we learn? Never put a price on a extra job, (at least don't tell them what you want to pay, let it be a surprise) Pay them on how well of a job they did. In the end I think Eli enjoyed himself, and I think he will be ready to do it again this summer.
2 comments:
Way to go Eli on your $5 job -- and your quick math skills. =) Are you done with BB for now? Or did you just decide it was time for them to be cleaned? Or are you planning to pay him to clean them out each month? =)
My kids (especially Jarom) are very motivated by money! It's a little unsettling to me actually, how much "better" they do and how much less nagging I do when I pay them... especially when it's based on their performance. Recently, I told my 3 big boys to wipe down the whole kitchen (cabinets, appliances, walls, table, chairs) with hot soapy water for a dollar each. Then I said that if someone did an EXTRA good job and someone else was slacking, then they might be able to claim some of their brother's dollar. Wow! The dynamics. They'd work hard and ask, "Have I earned part of _______'s dollar yet?" Or I could say when someone started giving themselves a break, "Looks like ______ is wanting to give up 10 cents or so" and the break would be over. Ha ha! They each got their dollar.
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