It is not my job to entertain my kids.
Yes, I want the best for them. Yes, I want them to experience great moments. Yes, I want them to have opportunity and see new things. Yes, I want to have fun with them too. But, it is also not my job to provide them with constant entertainment and things to do.
When I was little Saturday morning meant cleaning at my house. I hated Saturday as a kid, honestly. But, my parents knew that I needed to learn that life isn’t always expecting the fun and being entertained – it also meant learning to do the hard things. So I would be stuck vacuuming or folding clothes or picking up toys.
Sometimes I feel guilty because I have to say no to doing fun things with them. I don’t say no because I don’t want to do stuff with them, but rather because I have to work or save money or just the build up of chores and housework is more pressing. And then I feel guilty that I’m not being a good mom or they’re missing out.
But here’s the deal – when we teach our kids the balance they don’t always expect to do something. And then they learn to appreciate the special things for what they are – special, not expected.
But it’s hard. It’s hard to say no. Or it’s hard to make them do chores because, lets be real, sometimes I would be way faster than they are or I don’t want to deal with complaining.
I’m not letting them down when I have to do hard things instead of fun things. Instead I’m teaching to them the hierarchy of needs. You can’t eat unless you work. That’s a basic one in life, but in today’s world, it’s easy to forget. I work so that food is on the table. And sometimes, I have to work so we all can eat.
So I make them do things. If they leave a dish on the table I’ll call them down, from upstairs and have them put it away. And not just on the counter, but rinsed in the dishwasher. And if the dishwasher needs emptying I’ll make them start there. Why? It teaches a code of responsibility.
Doing the hard things makes room for the good things.
So no guilt if sometimes you have to say no to the fun things. No guilt if you have to work. No guilt.
Do you know the neatest thing? I remember one night, as a kid, when my parents had all of us kids sitting at the table cutting corn off the cob so that they could freeze it. Well, after an hour or two of this, I said to my dad, “could we have ice cream afterwards?” And I remember him looking at my mom, winking. Well, instead of ice cream from the freezer they packed us up, drove four miles and stopped at Dairy Queen. And, unlike normal, they let us order whatever we wanted.
Do you know why I remembered it?
Because getting the Peanut Buster Parfait after chores wasn’t normal. It was a gift. A reward. And I remember my dad saying to us kids about how hard we worked and how grateful they were for our contribution.
So remember that. When the kids grumble or you feel guilty. Because my parents didn’t entertain us – they made us work and taught us to value the moments, the freedom, and the space of the rewards of work.
Sometimes the simplest moments and best memories happen in the fabric of life and work.
~Rachel
My book The Brave Art of Motherhood (which talks about the value of work) is available HERE.
Here is the original viral post on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/findingjoyblog/photos/a.207974645908511/2248146301891325/?type=3&theater
4 comments
In this crazy 21st century world, we are so accustomed to being entertained every second of the day, we have lost sight of the beauty of NOT being entertained. Some of the greatest creativity I have watched through my children has come out of their boredom and frustration. But, it takes me, Mom, to know that’s coming. I must stand strongly and patiently against the whining and the protesting, knowing something more important will come soon. And while that sounds simple, the devices remain incredibly tempting to quiet the protests.
I always reminded my kids of this “. It’s not my job to entertain you”. I think they’ll remember it because I repeated it . I too was cleaning on Saturdays & the chores were quite a bit more strenuous than those today like flipping a mattress & ckeaning inside the springs of the box spring ( showing my age)along with normal chores but seriously we had responsibilities.
Why does work always have to be looked at as something that’s not fun? It’s a mindset. Work can be fun. It’s just how you view it. Example: If you went bowling and were thinking “this is work, throwing that heavy ball down that lane”, then something that’s supposed to be fun would no longer be fun. Get the point? It’s all in the mind. Work IS fun! And think about that wonderful feeling of accomplishment. Parents need to change their mindset about work and transfer that thinking to their children.
To be honest, I find it strange that an article like this needs to be written at all. It is all common sense, but it seems we have lost much of our reason in the West. Here in Africa where we live, the opposite is true, so that kids aren’t expected or allowed to have fun very much, but instead are expected to help provide for the family with a lot of heavy chores. Playing can be termed ‘stubborness’! Often, needs must with water needing fetched and animals needing put out to graze. I would like a balance between the West and Africa and think that this article is encouraging that. It’s sad to me that we have lost so much common sense in the West that we have to remind ourselves of this, though. PS, I am not a mum or mom, I am a dad, but my wife had shared this for me to read…I hope it’s ok to comment!