Almost two weeks ago, my babysitter of two years gave me her notice. She was a wonderful caregiver to my children and treated them as family but it was time for her to find a job outside the home.
My first reaction was, "oh crap. What now?" After thinking about it for a while, I decided that they are old enough to stay home alone after school. Syd will be 12 in December and Mell is 9.
The first thing I did was give them 3x5 cards with one chore written on each. Each child has an envelope and I put three cards inside before I go to work in the morning. When they get off the bus, they are expected to do their homework and then chores. No TV or video games until it's done. For doing this, they would earn $5/week.
Both girls were very excited about this and everything went so smoothly. Their dad picks them up around 5:00 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and has them until 8:00 but on Mondays, Thursdays and alternate Fridays, they have to wait until 6:00 for me to get home. Each day,the chores were finished and homework had been done.
The big test came on Friday when they had a full day off. I held my breath and set the ground rules; no friends in the house, do your chores, no fighting and don't call me unless someone is spurting blood. They did great! I had Syd put a chicken and baked potatoes in the oven and the smell of dinner greeted me when I walked in the door. It was wonderful.
I have high hopes that things will continue to work out. I was about Syd's age when I became a latchkey kid in a place far less safe than where we live now and did fine. I guess I found another reason to be thankful for life at the lake.
