Homemaking Organized Blog

Archive for March 20th, 2009

Okay I have to say even though I was going through the motions I truly thought my daughter would be more like 12 or 16 before the help she did in the home was actually helping instead of making more work.

In reading other blogs and websites I was wondering what I was doing wrong. I mean everyone else swore their 2 year old was cooking up the main dish in the dinner meal and taking on cleaning the bathroom so mommy could have a nap. Book said that toddler could help match socks and set the table but my child would just throw the socks and look blankly at me when I asked for her help in setting the table. I wondered what I was doing wrong.

So I decided to stop reading and looking and focus on what was going on in my home (the big blog break). During that time I focused more on teaching and working with our daughter and doing my best to include her in most everything I did around the house.

I shook off the zip, wham, bam bug, because I like to be efficient and really get things done, and instead enjoyed the moment and time with my child.

Then my husband took some vacation time and I got to see how it was really done. They volunteered to cook dinner several nights a week and then cleaned up the garage and washed dishes. I watched how he included her in everything and that it was okay when it wasn’t perfect. Although now I see she is a bit of a perfectionist and likes things just so. I saw how he purposely had her do the safe cooking chores away from the not so safe. Such as she would arrange the fruit on a platter while he chopped veggies at the other end of the counter. She got better at setting the table.

So yeah I took notes and carried on after he returned to work.

And then it started. The other day as I was talking on the phone starting at a heap of clean towels that I didn’t want to fold, my daughter who will soon be four and was sitting on the bed hanging out with mommy, started folding the towels ever so neatly and stacking them. My phone conversation started having weird pauses because I was in such shock. She then gave me the sweetest smile and said “all done”. And I had to hang up for fear of a crying fest coming on.

Next it was dinner. All ready except for the veggie which was kale I asked my sweet peanut if she could rip the little leaves off of the stalk. I showed her what we ate and what was kind of tough. She did it so perfectly and then rinsed them thoroughly. Again I was choking up.

Since then it’s been non-stop help. She does some part of dinner 5 to 6 nights a week. Usually putting together the rice or the salad or mixing up some ingredients if that is on the menu. She pushes the push broom under the dining table after meals. She is always in on whatever baking is going on and she helps to fold laundry. Making beds is still a bit touch and go since she would rather jump on them than make them. And washing dishes is just an excuse for water play so I end up really washing them when she’s done. But that’s okay because she is only 3 going on 4.

Yaaay!

So now as we prepare for addition number two I’ve been dropping hints about changing diapers.