Maude Michaud | La parfaite maman cinglante
It’s a fact that you spend most of your free time cleaning the house. If you’re not folding a load of darks, you’re vacuuming up colonies of dust bunnies from the living room hardwood or scrubbing the kitchen tile on all fours like Cinderella. Somewhere along the line, you forgot that you don’t live alone and that your kids can also get their hands dirty every now and then. If you need more convincing, here are five good reasons to put your kids to work.
#1 You’ll save time
The average time that your seven-year-old son will spend filling up the dishwasher defies comprehension and you’ll probably be at the end of your rope before he finishes clearing the table. The thing is, if you get him to do it for a few weeks, he’ll get better at it and you’ll likely end up saving time. And hey, there’s no shame in taking a whole three-and-a-quarter minutes to relax while you’re not loading the dishwasher.
#2 You’re not their servant
So you’re the kind of mom who’s got eyes in the back of her head, wielding her paper towel roll in front of her permanently simmering spaghetti sauce, always at her children’s beck and call. And you wonder why they ask you for things without saying please or thank you? When you do everything for your kids, they know that you’ll wait on them hand and foot. And nobody wants that, because you’re their mom, not their servant.
#3 You want them to be able to fry an egg before they’re 20
The more you do for your kids, the less they have to show that they’re even the slightest bit resourceful. They’re hungry? You put everything on hold to make them a snack. Your youngest can’t cut her steak? You slice it up in the blink of an eye. Your oldest can’t tie his shoes even though he’s nine years old? No problem kiddo, Mom’ll take care of it. If you never get your kids involved in day-to-day tasks and don’t force them to figure things out for themselves every now and then, you might end up with a 20-year-old who can’t fry an egg. Think about it.
#4 You want your kids to be able to live with someone besides you some day
If you’re the type who’s always cleaning up after her kids, preparing home-cooked meals round-the-clock and cleaning their rooms every week without asking for a hand, things might backfire when they move in with a roommate or their new girlfriend or boyfriend. The thing is, they’ll realize that in the real world, housework doesn’t magically take care of itself. And while they’re making heads and tails of life as an adult, their new boyfriend or girlfriend might be packing their bags after doing your kid’s dirty dishes one too many times.
#5 You’ll let your kids know just how much work you do every day
Until you experience something, it’s hard to know the ins and outs. By putting your kids to work, you’ll give them an idea of what a mom’s job entails. Plus, you should get a couple more thank-yous every week and some recognition. A bit. Not too much. Let’s be realistic.
So I guess that’s it. If your kids help around the house, it’ll lighten your load and they’ll be a heck of a lot better off in their future adult lives. Think about it.
