..... So I make her work... it is always fun... therefore she LOVES to help! She now takes it upon herself to sweep and mop the floor almost every morning, she BEGGED me to clean the toilets (which I hate to do!)yesturday morning, she got into the tub hands and knees to offer some serious elbow grease working on that soap gunk, then she helped me load things up into the attic storage spot...we seriously worked cleaning/organizing the house for about 4 hours straight and she NEVER complained, always asked for what was next and happily worked beside me.
What she does is never perfect and some things take twice the time to do it with her than it would without- but the cleaniness is not my goal- it is the love for "pulling her weight" that I am looking to instill. She now makes her own bed-picks up her own room and her own toys. She ENJOYS cleaning up any spills that occur during the day and always asks to help when I am working. She is learning that she is valuable to the family, that she is capable and this makes her proud of herself.
Some gauk that my house is not always (okay-it NEVER is) spotless. We don't have fancy things. And this is just perfect... it makes it so easy to never "lose it" when something breaks or when spills occur. I can wait for a 3 year old (and even the 11 month old when he spills) to clean it up because I am not in a mad rush to "save" whatever something was spilled on... It keeps the stress level real low and because I am not freaking out it can be made fun to clean it up. All of this to say.... I love my kids.... so I make them work.
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This is awesome! I have really been asking the Lord to calm me down a little. I'm not a control freak, its just I HATE chores so I want to get them done as quickly as possible and little hands make the work take longer. BUT what God has been showing me is that when I slow down and include my kiddos, they are learning, they are having a blast, and we are having opportunities to talk about things we might not of otherwise. Thanks for the inspiration and encouragement!
ReplyDeletethis was one of the reasons we installed cheap carpet! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is great, Sara! I love the way that you and Michael are raising your kids! Sorry that they were crazy babies, but they will definitely end up as happy, well-adjusted, successful adults with lots of friends. :) Another thing that 3 year olds love is those little handheld dust buster vacuum cleaners. Good ideas, but it is harder to get 2nd and 3rd kids to be as independent, because the oldest ones are so helpful that when it is time to clean the room, my three year old ends up just watching! Betsy
ReplyDeleteYou are such a good Mama, Sara! I am inspired. :)
ReplyDelete