Child Contracting

June 25th, 2022
kids
The kids came to me with a contract dispute: they disagreed about what the deal had been. After some talking, and hearing what they each thought they'd agreed to, it turned out that the contract wasn't just metaphorical:

"Anna rents the living room from Lily in exchange for Lily's use of bedroom. And Lily will do free cleaning."

It turned out that Anna signed it after hearing a rough paraphrase. I told Lily that she would need to read any future contracts aloud, word for word, before Anna signed. I also explained about interpretation against the drafter, and how Lily should be careful to avoid ambiguity in writing down agreements.

I'm not sure what "free cleaning" means here? Generally they both do very little cleaning, free or otherwise.

Cleaning up this evening I came across a second contract:

"Anna will let Lily use bedroom and bathroom. In exchange Lily will let Anna use the living room and Lily does free cleaning. If furniture is moved or added please put away".

This one wasn't signed, so perhaps they couldn't agree?

Comment via: facebook, lesswrong, substack

Recent posts on blogs I like:

Linkpost for September

Regular announcements: did you know you can hire me for life coaching and general consulting? You can also buy my novella Her Voice Is A Backwards Record wherever fine books are sold (except Google Books).

via Thing of Things September 8, 2025

Against the Teapot Hold in Contra Dancing

The teapot hold is the most dangerous common contra dancing figure, so I’ve been avoiding it. The teapot hold, sometimes called a "courtesy turn hold,” requires one dancer to connect with their hand behind their back. When I realized I could avoid put…

via Emma Azelborn August 25, 2025

Little Puppy

She's very little and she likes to do stuff with me. She also likes to bark around and run around and jump around. She also likes to go to places with me and that's all I have.

via Nora Wise's Blog Posts August 23, 2025

more     (via openring)