She told me, "Sydney was really surprised that I didn't know how to trim my nails."
"She was?" I asked, a little surprised. Then I said, "Did you tell her that your mom still does too many things for you that she probably shouldn't?"
We laughed and then I told her to bring me the clippers because she had missed several of her nails and they were driving me crazy and I just trimmed them up for her real quick. :)
I told Shane, "I started trimming their nails when they were babies, how am I supposed to know when to stop?"
I know I am not the only mom that would rather do things for her kids to avoid certain messes, save time, get it done the way I want it, make sure they don't get hurt, etc. but the more I think about it the more I realize I NEED to let those things happen for their sake. I have figured this out in certain areas (swim skills, aka: learning to do hard things), but I have to be willing to have my life "inconvenienced" so they can learn regular, every day life skills.
I'm working on it....
I did let them pour their own cereal & milk this morning.
Baby steps.
6 comments:
Ya...and I'm probably the opposite. My kids have been getting themselves breakfast since they were 4! :) Brooklyn can make her own lunch and get it ready in the morning, and really they're great at "fending for themselves." I'm sure there's a happy medium, because I feel like crappy parent when I don't do enough for them, but doing too much isn't great either. I'm so happy that my kids aren't helpless and are independent...but sometimes I worry that's not good either. Oy! Parenting is tricky!
Oh Dixie! I agree with everything you said. Hello, potty training. I would rather just change their diaper instead of having them go to the bathroom all over the place and then let me clean it up. One diaper, one little messy area! I need to learn to let them do things, for sure!
Great post, hon. You failed to mention that, while letting them pour milk as you did, you also advised them how to do it correctly. Cereal, as we all know, should not fill the whole bowl, thus preventing proper milk levels to be attained. My mantra: let them figure it out through trial and error! Mistakes are great! Um, this mantra may get me in trouble sometimes.
I find that being selfish and lazy is a great way for your child to learn how to be independent and do things themselves. I'm just trying to deal with the guilt that accompanies that. But sometimes it just ends up that when I am too lazy to get off the couch or pull away from the book, that Brandon ends up dealing with it.
Yeah, and I also should say, Brooklyn has fully been showering herself since about 3 1/2. That's impressive. There must be a happy medium somewhere. I'm trying to let Maggie shower herself or help Max, and well, she wants nothing to do with that. I've been TRYING to convince Maggie that she's darn well old enough to wipe her own bum after pooping, but, again, she won't hear of it. Therefore, I just give in and do it, because, well, it's a lot less messy underpants, if ya know what I mean. But, I'm there with you...easier to just DO IT myself then let them figure it out sometimes. I gots to learn to let go and let live.
I am so guilty of doing this. It's hard when you only have one child and you can do things for them. I've been trying really hard lately to back off. Maybe I will take annie's approach!
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