Yes….it is more about my little people. I warned you Monday that the whole week would be like this. ….Well if you are still here I am assuming you too have an interest in brainwashing your own little people or just want to mess with other people’s kids. Equally as fun.

As I plunge on with my week of chats about molding my little people into what I hope will be good stewards of the earth, or at least not Mc Ds eating H2 driving Re…re….re…..republicans, I would like to focus on that ever important trait that we don’t often associate with city living: self-sufficiency. Now…I am not talking about pioneer living. Obviously I have chosen to raise my family in one of the largest cities in the world and don’t even handle my own trash, shovel a walk, or even get my own packages. (This isn’t because I am a megasnob that doesn’ want to chip a manicure; it is just the nature of communal city life. So stop rolling your eyes country folk!) That being said, I do feel it is important for my children to not take for granted that one must have others do everything for them. So how do I train my little monkeys to not assume they will always have their hineys professionally shellacked? I let them “help” me with just about everything. Does it mean dinner takes 43 &1/2 hours to make? It might rabbit, it might. Does it mean I often have to sew with a 30 lb two year old licking my face? Perhaps. Does taping a page back in a book require a few more yards of tape than one would deem necessary….who are we to judge? Now…I love my husband…but Bob Vila he is not. He is, however, an amazing father who always seems to find a way to include our guys in any attempts he makes to fix things around the house. (In addition to my great fortune to have a husband who tries so hard, I also have the great fortune of a building staff that can ever so discretely come and fix any “fixing” that has been going on over the weekend.)

[The boys make necessary slide repairs.]

So what does all this blathering have to do with raising little green gremlins? Well….it is my hope that by showing them that they can do and make things for themselves they won’t always look to the easiest answer..buying something new. When they approach a new situation hopefully they will include themselves and their begotten skills as part of the solution. Also…hopefully, because we try to show them we value their help…they will value their own ability to do things. Something is broken…at least make it a discussion as to what should be done. Maybe in the end you need to hire someone or you may even need to replace it, but make it an active choice and not an automatic response. My point…yes I have one…include the little people in on the chat and on your attempts. Failed attempts, such as I’m sure we will experience many many many times in our upcoming yogurt attempts, will teach them that it is okay to fail and keep trying. Even if you may end up with a bucket for a hat. Don’t ask.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 at 7:43 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.