One of the things I have completely failed to do as a parent is teach my kids how to clean up after themselves.
Occasionally, when I was a kid, my mother would have to remind us to do something that should be second nature. Like close the car door behind us. And I find myself echoing her words thirty years later. "Who do you think you are? The president? SHUT the DOOR!" And my boys give me the same blank look we probably gave my mom. "What? Who me? Door? What door? This door? THIS one? The one right here behind me?"
Getting the kids to clean up a whole playroom full of toys so that someone can actually vacuum the floor takes the patience of a saint. They forget that they are supposed to be cleaning and begin taking things out instead of putting them away. (Andy) They want to keep everything out as a "special toy" to be played with immediately once the chore is done. (Nate) They are insanely worried that they might do a small fraction more work than either of their brothers. (Nick) So picture it. Andy pulling bins out and Nate playing loudly as Nick shouts "ANDY! NATE! CLEAN UP! CLEAN UP!"
I end up directing from a chair, sitting as long as I can before popping up to help out and just get us through the process. "Nate, pick up your shoes. Andy, pick up the car. The car. That's a book. Get the car. It's next to your foot. See? Pick it up. In your hand. OK, not put it in the bin. The white car bin. Where is the car bin? Where is it? Right! It's over there. Put the car in the bin. That's right. Put it in. Good job! No, leave it in there. Leave the other cars in there. Go get something else. Nate, I said pick up YOUR SHOES!"
I blame myself. If I made them pick up more often, they would get used to it, right? It would become less painful, wouldn't it?
2 comments:
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Sorry to laugh, but it really never changes. Don't you think some medieval mother was saying something along the lines of: Get that log out of the kitchen! Which log? That stupid log you play with all day! That log you ride all day long pretending it's a horse & you're a knight! No knight would ever treat his things like that. Now take care of it or I'll throw it on the fire to keep us warm!
You know, I used to go through this on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays with 50 non-English, largely non-Thai speaking kindergarteners when I lived in Mae Sai. The staff was trying to get me to teach them the Montessori method of playing and sharing with toys called 'box system.' It was only 3 hours a week but I wanted to check myself into a mental institution. I don't konw how you do it full time all the time.
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