Book Review

I have been reading a lot lately. Too much, in fact, and my laundry has been piling up as a result. My latest book, however, got me off my tush in a jiffy, as I am humbled and convicted by all that the authors must do to keep their home in order. My daily life is a cake walk in comparison!

Our family has been watching the show about the Duggar family for several months now, and our kids love it. They can watch without wondering if we will change channels because of inappropriate clothing, language, or behavior. We watched one episode of John and Kate Plus 8, and that was the last episode for us. I don't care for my children to get any ideas from a very loud bunch of kids. The contrast between the two families, especially given that the Duggars have twice as many children, is astounding. Yeah, yeah, Kate's family's kids are younger as a bunch, and the older Duggar kids do a great deal to help out, but their little ones are so well behaved.

Picking up the book was a good move, and was encouraged by a friend who had already read it. I finished in a couple evenings, and my life has changed overnight because of a new way of prodding my girls to get things done! Michelle Duggar issues check marks on a chart when her kids complete various tasks, and the children get money for each mark.

I was giving out coins before, but would see days fly by without any initiative on my kids' parts to complete any tasks. Their banks, which have sections shaped like buildings for "Church", "Bank", and "Shopping" were very lonely without any deposits, and the dolls I bought for them to earn were beginning to give up all hope of being claimed by my girls any time before high school graduation.

Now, there's a chart for each girl, where they get to write a check mark each time they answer, "Yes ma'am" and cheerfully run off to complete a task I have given them. I think this works better for a few reasons:

1. They like being able to write their own check mark. It brings some instant gratification and pride in their work.


2. They know that each mark is worth five cents, whereas before they may have been given a whole quarter for the same chore. Because they're focused on the check mark instead of the amount of money, they don't seem to be calculating in their heads whether or not it's worth doing the task for the amount they're getting. That, and I've told them, that they'll be required to complete the request, whether they are pleasant about it or not. The manners are what earns the money; that, and obeying right away, without taking pit-stops.


3. They are competing. This is one of many reasons why I LOVE having two children close together in age. They can see their charts side by side, and don't want to lag behind the other, so they run up and ASK if there is anything that I need them to do.


4. I don't have to carry around a big jar of change. At the end of the week, I'll count the marks, hi-light the ones that have been redeemed, and give them a lump-sum.

I love Michelle Duggar!!! My kids folded and put away laundry today, cleaned their playroom, cleaned hallways, cleared dishes, sorted dirty laundry, cleaned a closet, and ran other minor errands up and down the stairs for me. Happily. With smiles. Who took my girls???!

If only for that one tip, I would have paid twice what I did for the Duggar's book. But there was so much more on their financial philosophy (no debt), homeschooling information for those of us who homeschool, or for others who might, as well as the reasons they have chosen to have a large family. My girls have asked me to read much of the book to them, and I love knowing they are hearing about a family that seeks God's will for their lives, and goes against the mainstream sometimes to rear faithful children.

Although we will not be rearing a bus load of kids, we eat a substantially different diet (I don't think any of the book's recipes would be useful to us), and I'm no more likely to circumcise a potential son than either of my daughters, I LOVE the Duggar family. They are really so precious, and such a breath of fresh air in a mostly musty world.