I have admired Carrie for a long time. We first met through MOMSnext. She has an easy way about her that makes you immediately feel comfortable and like her! She’s an awesome mom of two boys and they live in the Midwest. I love reading about her adventures with them. You’ll love her honesty and her new plan for bringing Life Skills into her son’s lives. Her boys are 12 and 10. Recently she posted this picture on Facebook with the title:
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| Training Continues…. |
I had to ask more! Carrie (humble as ever), said that she is “certainly not an example for early training since this is the first year I’m insisting that they help.”
What held her back?
- I remember when they were young, thinking that I was going to have them doing things when they were five and six. Well, somehow those years slid by and I never followed through.
- I think many times in the back of my mind I justify letting them get away with not doing chores because 1) “I’m a stay-at-home mom without young ones and I have the time”; or 2) they’ve got too much homework; or 3) it’s just easier to do it myself.
- However I know I’m doing them a disservice when I don’t teach them how to care for themselves. They need to know that what moms / dads do for the home isn’t so easy!
What’s her Goal now?
So this summer my goal is to instruct and supervise them in washing dishes, cleaning their own bathrooms, and operating the washer and dryer. So yes, they are older than they should be for starting some of these chores, and even with this goal we don’t work on it as often as we should. But I know that now is better than never, and they need the discipline of knowing how to manage the basics of housework, even (maybe even especially) as boys.
Funny Note:
The dishwasher in the photo (age 12), asked for the gloves because he thought the water temperature was too hot. Carrie said her “mom hands” can handle it and don’t even notice the heat anymore! She’s going to have to buy him a much larger pair now!
Tip: Her boys take turns washing and drying the dishes. She wants to promote this as a job the do together. Awesome!
Thank you so much for encouraging us Carrie! Remember, it’s not too late to get started on training your children to be successful adults!
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Join our Pinterest board on Life Skills (click here).
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Join our Pinterest board on Life Skills (click here).
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Sometimes I’m so good at the wishing they were just doing it already that I forget the “instruct and supervise” step. Great reminder! And great to have them do the chores together — it’s always more fun when someone is doing it with you!
@Anonymous – I’m right with you! I keep reading about the Life Skills and thinking they all sound great – but actually modeling it and giving it more than a 5 minute intro is not enough!