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Saturday, May 17, 2008

Selective independence

One frequent struggle I have encountered in my parenting endeavors is children who whine, "But I can't dooooo it!" when asked to accomplish a task around the house. Now, mind you, I'm not asking them to change the oil in the car or re-wire the house.
It's just astounding to me that the following exchange can occur:
Me: "What're you doin'?"
Child: "Oh, just makin' myself a Monte Cristo sandwich with a side salad of mixed greens and fresh crudites."
Me: "That's great! When you're done, how 'bout we go clean up the playroom together?"
Child: "But I can't doooo it!"
Of course, the preceding example is an exaggeration, but only a slight one.
Where's my Michelle Duggar handbook? I need to figure out how that woman gets her kids to do their chores (without yelling, spanking, or threatening bodily harm).

3 comments:

  1. If you send me the kid who makes the Monte Cristos...I will come and clean his/her room! And crudite??? YUM-O! :) So glad to see I will be able to better keep up with your life! Love the blog! Love you more!

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  2. What a sweet cousin you are, reading my blog entry AND posting to it!
    Your trade proposal sounds more than fair to me. I'll have my people get in touch with your people and they can work out the details.
    Love you!

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  3. Yay! Welcome to the blogging world! I think you should post some pics of your beautiful family! I love you!

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