Believe it or not my 5 year old, when she wants to, can be an exceptional help. Normally, I am in full on crazy "gotta get it done" mode and just whiz past her when she is offering to help. I know there are lessons to be learned in letting her help but sometimes the mess I get in return is just not worth it to me. I know, awful , awful woman I am. But today, I let my little Cinderella help. She was all into rinsing the dishes until she realized it was kinda gross and not really as much fun as she had apparently previously thought. Right in the middle of all the excitement, Bella: "Umm, Mom! I don't really care for this!" Me:" Really? Cause it's my favorite thing to do." Bella (completely vexed)"REALLY?" Me: "No, not really. Sometimes, in life, we have to do things we don't like because we are supposed to or have to." Bella: "Yeah, well , I don't like that rule!" (Me neither baby, me neither.) Look at that, I did some completely accidental good mothering..."Go
Really don't know why Bella was so upset, it wasn't like she had to do dishes in a third world country...like I had the privilege of doing on vacation to visit family in Mexico when I was a kid.This is not a picture of me, but it was how I had to do the dishes when we went to Mexico. Bella has it easy! Maybe I should show her the picture , when she's a little older to put things into perspective! Happy Mothering!
I think it is great that you are giving her some responsibilities and having her follow through with them. As a teacher, I feel that it really teaches children independence and helps them gain self-confidence. You sound like a terrific Mom to me.
ReplyDeleteYou can let Bella know that I think it's kinda gross too....I don't much care for all the wet gunky food chunks floating in the water! Although I do do dishes all the time and rarely use the dishwasher because thats one thing that drives me nuts is dishes in the sink!!!
ReplyDeleteShe looks totally thrilled too!!! I love it!
This is one of those things that looks exciting until you actually do it. Kids think parents have it great until they get roped into doing "parent" stuff. I remember when doing dishes seemed very ADULT, and, therefore, something I wanted to do. When it became my job, I HATED IT. Tooooo funny.
ReplyDeleteYou know this will not last. She's already making faces, its ok because eventually ( as a right of passage) she will be the dishwasher, as her sister will be after her,I was before her , and my Mother was before me. We come from a long line of dishwashing haters but we do them because none of us can stand those little bastards sitting in the sink.
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