I have no doubts about the accuracy of that statement.
With all of the traveling that we do, the kids often get a new toy/movie/book (sometimes all of the above) when we take long trips. This is for the sanity of the driver, and to make the trip more bearable for small children who can't really move around too much.
Add to that the fact that we don't usually travel with a lot of toys because we don't know what the place looks like until we get there. (For example, we brought very few inside toys to Florida and chose to bring a larger bin of outside toys. Well, QL is NOT fond of the heat here, and combine that with the serious bug problem and the fact that they are now building a house in the lot next door that is 3 feet off the front door, and we get maybe 10-15 minutes of outside time a day. Pathetic I know. We sure are missing our fenced in backyard back home.) We almost always end up going to get new toys and/or games when we travel to a new place.
Now every time we leave a store, QL cries if we don't get her a toy. EVERY TIME.
They've also become spoiled to free-time. We had a really good system for the kids to help with household chores when we were back home. Traveling always kind of puts a wrench in that. The house is different, the chores are different, etc. And the first few weeks we were here, we really were in vacation mode. It's really hard not to be in a place like this! Now if I ask the kids to do something, anything, I get "I don't want to!" "But MO-OM, I was gonna do ______!" "I didn't make that mess" etc. etc. You can see where I'm going with this. Everything is a big, whiny, crying fight.
I am so over it.
I have to come up with a system or method that travels well, so that no matter where we are or where we're going, the kids know what's expected of them. I have a feeling that a chore chart is just not going to work for us. They are just going to have to be trained to help out around the house because this is what a family does. I do think that it is better to teach it that way anyway.
Dealing with the toy issue is going to be much easier. We (Husband and I) have decided that we're going to put ALL of their toys into bins, and they can earn back one toy a day by having a good day (no arguing/fighting with each other, obeying Mamma and Daddy, being cheerful and helpful, etc.). At the end of some set period of time, any toys that have not been reclaimed will be donated. And I really think we should sort out some toys to be donated first off. We've done this a few times a year for about 2 years now, and while at first the kids were devastated to see their toys go, they now talk about how nice it is to give their unused toys to boys and girls who can't go get new toys. Conversations like that give me hope! ; )
