Welcome to my blog on topics about keeping the home - or attempting to - as a Gen X Mom of four and wife to one. :) This blog is written by me, Lori Seaborg, from the Florida-Alabama Gulf Coast. I'm not the person who is ahead of you in mothering and homemaking knowledge. I'm just the gal right beside you, motivating the 11yo daydreamer, keeping up with the 9yo future homemaker extraordinaire (every mama needs a helper like this one!), teaching the rascally 6-year-old while occupying the 3yo. Let's learn together!
When I was a kid, I remember telling my mom once, "You just had us so you'd have servants!" Now that I'm a mother of four, I think ... well, yep, that sounds about right. Those kids make great servants! Plus, they're cute to look at while they work.
But the biggest reason to teach them while they are little is not so you can get out of the work yourself, but because if you don't teach them, adulthood will be that much harder.
I have a friend who was pampered as a child and not taught to do any cleaning or cooking. She is now the mother of four preschoolers and has the hardest time keeping her home. My friend recently found a bag of flour in her cupboard. Her mother had left it after visiting one day. My friend didn't know what to do with flour; she had recipes, but didn't know how to follow one! So she called her mom to ask what to do with the flour. Guess what her mom said?
"I am so sorry I never taught you those things you need to know."
Don't you wait until your child is an adult to teach him or her! Teaching can begin today.
The kids don't need to add to our burden. They can be little helpers! Don't dustpan the floor after you sweep, get your 5yo to do it. Don't wind the vacuum cord after you vacuum! Call him in, tell him it's a race track and he gets to drive the cord around the track, winding it up.
Think of yourself as a manager. You are delegating the small stuff so you can work on the big stuff. You will enjoy the little breaks that you receive and you will be less stressed. Your children will be filled with pride. But their real reward is later.
When they grow into adults they will know how to take care of themselves.
(Sometimes we just don't realize what chores our children are capable of. In the below posts, you will see my lists of chores that my children can do at ages 2, 5, 7, and 9.)
I feel the same way....and I let the girls know that too! They are going to be wives someday and I want them to be able to take care of their husbands and homes, not pay some maid to do that. I tell everyone that I am working myself out of a job! I think that girls should have skills for being at home. If my girls grow up to be wives, that's ok with me as long as they do that job the BEST!
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