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Comment by Angelia Bell on December 2, 2009 at 8:32

Hi...I'm not a reporter (yet!). I'm still a student but I'm a single mom & I work outside the home so I suffer through some of the same struggles. I hope I'm welcome here. =)

Comment by Jena Macato on September 25, 2009 at 8:23

Chores... we started way late with my oldest and regret it. I guess you learn from your mistakes. He still thinks he's a little prince (LOL) and tries to avoid chores. But here it goes:

13-year-old - makes bed, feeds dog & gives water daily, throws trash, any special assignment I have for him when he gets home from school; i.e., unload/load dishwasher, swiffer the front room and hallway - you get the picture. He is capable of making $1.00 per day and is paid on Friday. Of course, if he doesn't do a chore and has to be reminded more than once, he does not get paid out for that chore.
7-year-old - makes bed, puts a new plastic bag in trash after big bro throws it, sets table before dinner, does a toy sweep in the evening and puts anything left out away. Now, he doesn't actually get paid. He has a chore jar that he drops tokens in when he completes his chores. Then we made up a token chart, so he gets to cash them in for whatever is on the chart. I.e., 3 tokens = small bag of chips; 10 tokens - Mc Flurry; 15 tokens = rent a video game, etc... He helped create it.
2-year-old - she sweeps the floor, scrubs the toilet -- nah, just kidding :). Of course, she is too young. But she is my little helper. She loves to help me out.

And, of course, the weekend is "Family Chore day." Everyone helps out eachother. The boys will either help out dad in the yard or help me in the house, and nobody gets compensated for this.

We started the token jar with my oldest at age 11, but as he got older, he wanted to see cash money!!

But it's trial and error. You kind of have to figure out what works for them. We actually sat down with the kids and explained to them things that we do around the house to keep it clean and orderly every day. They got to look at the list and choose what they thought they could and/or would do. So the chores they do, they picked. My 13-year-old actually likes to scrub the shower, go figure! Well, I hope this helps.

Comment by Melissa on August 15, 2009 at 16:27

I have to say, it is a really tough combination, being a mommy and a court reporter and a wife!!! Definitely struggling with this combo.

Comment by April McMillan, CRR, RPR, CSR on May 10, 2009 at 12:31

Comment by Kyung on January 7, 2009 at 6:17

I'm glad we're get the single father perspective here.

Comment by Michael D. Chaney on January 7, 2009 at 3:00

It's all over now, but I had fun while I was doing it. I was a single father of four since my youngest and only girl was 7 months old. I became a CSR when she was 10 months old. Her oldest sibling was in 3rd grade summertime. Then there was the 2nd grader & my kindergartener. It sure was fun but God was good to me. I could write a book. Because of this profession, I was able to attend all school functions, sports, and they never had to walk to school. It was awesome. If I had to do it all over again, I'd do the same thing.

Comment by Stacy Tegner on January 6, 2009 at 20:26

Thanks, Kyung ~ Great idea! I have two girls 10 (11 in Feb.) and 7 (8 in April) ~ so they're both 1/2s ;)) I finally feel like I'm able to take more work and not feel so crazed all the time ~ thank goodness I'm a night person ~ although I always think I would probably be more productive if I got up early and just worked for an hour or two before they got up. I'm also finally using a proofreader for all my jobs ~ I haven't branched out to the scopist yet, though ~ one of these days. I still feel this is the best profession for a mom (or dad) I love being able to pick my schedule ~ I can still make field trips and important school events. My husband's job is flexible too, which really helps. Thanks again for the invite!!
Stacy

Comment by Jena Macato on January 6, 2009 at 20:10

Sorry. My fault. I should have started a discussion topic first, Jeanese. I'll do that now. Any more replies on the issue, please reply on the discussion topic :)

Comment by Brenda Rogers on January 6, 2009 at 20:06

That''s in discussions, not the main page comments, Jeanese.

Comment by Brenda Rogers on January 6, 2009 at 19:59

Jena, not ADD/ADHD, but autism. When my son turned 6, his neuropsych informed me that *he* would be going on meds so *I* could get some sleep. Started with imiprimene (spelling is a mess, but I'm too lazy to look it up). Made him angry. Tried Ritalin. Not as angry, but still not a good fit. Then another, which worked well. Used that for just about 6 months, and the Risperdal came out, and he was put on that.

He slept all night, was able to focus the next day. Dosage was a little high for a while (falling asleep at school), but I got that adjusted. I was the one doing the dosage adjustments, not the docs. Doctor trusted my judgment and prescribed based on what I said worked.

Last spring, when he was 16, my son lost his Rx at his dad's house. I had already stopped using it on weekends and over breaks, but I sent it just in case. I sent him to school without it, then checked with the teacher as to how he was doing. (I didn't tell her what I'd done until I found out how it went.)

Went well enough that he hasn't been on meds since. We used melatonin for a while to help him sleep, but he sleeps without that now too.

Hope that's not TMI, but that's my experience with medications to help sleep and focus issues.

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