I Was Thinking About Getting My Daughter Involved in Something

I have five kids, 3 of which are girls. I know what you mean about not wanting to clean or even keep their room clean. But what we must understand is that WE are the PARENTS and our children HAVE to respect that. Instead of getting her to something so she should what she is SUPPOSED to, tell her unless she doesn't do her chores and keep her room clean you WON'T get her into something. Even strike a deal. "If you do your chores and keep your room clean without reminding or forgetting, we will start some type of extra activity for you." No, I'm not an expert, but I started my kids cleaning after themselves when they were very young. Depending on their maturity, they started at age 2 years picking up little things here and there. As they grew older, I actually made out a schedule for them to follow. I have ages 16 boy, 12 girl, 10 boy, 9 girl, 7 girl. I only do dishes 2 a month. On Sundays. The three oldest ones have verying days. So mom, just put that foot down and make some regulating changes.

Although I'm a big fan of 4-H, girl scouts, etc, I don't think extracurricular activities are going to inspire her to clean her room. I'm assuming this is one of the older kids? My policy is that your room is your problem... it only needs to be clean enough for the firemen to find you. However, everyone has to help out with cleaning public spaces. It's very helpful to say "everyone is cleaning for the next 20 minutes, then we can have ice cream". Kids don't like to clean alone, so everyone in my house gets up and cleans *together*.

Good luck!

Hello A., this is S.! I also have #4 kids ages 3,7,8, & 11 yrs old. I also have trouble getting my kids to do thier chores. I had put up a chore chart with thier names and the list of chores on it. Each time they did a chore they got a sticker and after so many stickers for the week or two , the kids got a reward like going to the movies or libary, or maybe even to a park. At one point we even wrote down a list of rewards they like to have and put it into a bowl so they could pick a reward for thier good behavior. We currently have a new system called the "twister game". I made up some different colors circles with each one having a different chore on it, then made up a new set of circles w/ each one having a consquence on it for the bad behavior. I lined up the chore circles going down on the wall on one side and lined up the consquences cirles down the wall on the other side. In the middle of the circles I posted up a chart to keep track of thier points they get for the day. Right below the point chart is a chart that has a list of behaviors, rules (explaining how the points are earned), and consquences. There is also a spinning wheel up on the wall. Each child gets to spin the wheel to see what color they landed on for the chore they have for the day. Each child gets a point for the chore if completed on time. Each child gets a point if they can get at least #5 out of the #8 behaviors for the day. Each child has the opportunity to get as least two points for the day. If the child doesn't do thier chores or misbehave they have to spin the spinner to see what color they land on which will tell them what consquence they have (ex: no T.V. for one night or early bedtime, etc). If each child can get thier #25 points then they get a reward. But if one child doesn't have all of thier points then none of the kids can get a reward. This builds up teamwork between the siblings and teaches them to be responsible or there will be consquences. This system also makes it fun for the kids to see what kind of chore they are going to have for that day. This also teaches them to be on a schedule as well. I really like this system cause the kids are now taking turns with the different chores instead of being stuck with the same one all the time. There is alot more of different ways to get your kids to help out and be resonsible around the house or even just getting thier homework done. I hope this helps and good luck.

I came across a website on Rainbow Girls, here is some basic info:

http://www.rainbow.org/what.html#ALLABOUT

What Do Rainbow Girls Do?
Members of Rainbow are active in their churches, schools, and communities. They raise money for various charities through bake sales, dinners and car washes, and they extend themselves in service to their communities, churches and their sponsoring organizations. Rainbow Girls have many fun activities and opportunities to make lifelong friendships.

How Often Are The Meetings?
Most Rainbow Assemblies meet twice a month. In addition to the bi-monthly meetings at her local Assembly, she will have the opportunity to visit other statewide or International Rainbow Assemblies, where she will meet other girls her own age who are members of the same organization.

Who Can Attend A Rainbow Meeting?
Rainbow Members in good standing, as well as any Mason, Eastern Star or Amaranth in good standing, any Majority member of Rainbow, and any parent, grandparent or legal guardian of an active Rainbow Girl is eligible to attend a meeting of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls.

Is Rainbow A Religious Organization?
No. The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls is a service organization. Rainbow does, however, encourage each member to be an active participant in the church of her choice.

Ritual Of The Order
The Ritual for the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls is a book of ceremonies used primarily for the Opening, Closing and Initiation of a Rainbow Assembly. Members of the Order recite, from memory, the ceremonies contained in the Rainbow Ritual.

The Seven Colors of the Rainbow are represented by seven stations, strategically placed in the shape of a bow. Each station is represented by a color, and each color teaches one of the seven lessons of Rainbow. The stations and lessons of the Rainbow are as follows:

Red is the first color station and represents Love. It emphasizes the importance of love of home and family.
Orange is the second color station and represents Religion. It emphasizes the importance of membership and active participation in the church of your choice.
Yellow is the third color station and represents Nature. It emphasizes the importance of spending time in the out-of-doors.
Green is the fourth color station and represents Immortality. It emphasizes that even though our body dies, our souls live on forever.
Blue is the fifth color station and represents Fidelity. It emphasizes the importance of loyalty to the Order and to the Rainbow Girl’s family and friends.
Indigo is the sixth color station and represents Patriotism. It emphasizes the importance of respecting the laws of our country and its flag.
Violet is the seventh color station and represents Service. Service is the foundation of Rainbow and emphasizes the importance of providing unselfish acts of service to our home, community and sponsoring orders of Rainbow.

The leadership structure of Rainbow begins with the local Assembly and extends to the State and International Assemblies. Each local Assembly is made up of five line officers (Rainbow Girls who lead the Assembly under the direction of a Mother Advisor and Advisory Board) and thirteen appointed officers. The adult governing body of each Rainbow Assembly is known as the Advisory Board and is comprised of seven to fifteen adults from various Masonic organizations.

Notice: Information contained in the above topics are copyrighted by the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, Supreme Assembly, McAlester, Oklahoma. Please visit their Official website for more information about joining Rainbow, and other useful topics.

I found this
http://www.iorg.org/

It is a link to a rainbow girls site

A.,

Im not sure what rainbow girls is but have you thought about girl scouts? They help with self esteem issues and respect of others. Can you get her involved in sports? Softball, volly ball things of that nature they also help with girls self esteem. Good luck!