Respect....and my children Just got home from a rough night at dinner. Sent the children upstairs to start their showers. Carson, my oldest asked if he could have a bath tonight. Looking at the time and knowing we have some to spare, I agreed. I walked in my kitchen to clean up and as I am cleaning I hear a lot of laughter, playing and having fun. I am thinking how nice it is to hear my children laughing together instead of the everyday drama! I walk upstairs picking up clothes that have been thrown all over the stairway and proceeded into my bedroom. I walk in to find that my bathroom flooded! Water sprayed all over the mirrors, wall paintings, shelves (well you get the picture). To my surprise, they actually sprayed the opposing counter top and mirrors almost 8 feet away! The water encompassed the entire tile floor and almost over ran into the master bedroom. Infuriated, I pulled both children out of the tub and insisted they started to clean up. 9 bath towels later we get most of the water off the floor. I dress them into their pjs and nicely walked them into the toy room in the basement not saying much. I asked each one of them to please explain to me what their idea of respect meant. My 4 year old gave me a 4 year old answer and my almost 9 year old actually understood what respect meant. As I sat them on the couch in the toy room, I grabbed the bucket of legos (you know the ones that have been accumulating for the past 6 years) and proceeded to skip, dance and throw them all over the room while my children laughed! When the bucket went empty, I drew a line in the middle of the room and explained to both of my children that Evan will be cleaning the left side and Carson will be cleaning the right side of the room. I also demanded that they were not to talk nor come upstairs until the room was entirely cleaned! I told them that if they would like me to respect their things then I expect them to respect my things. As I walked up the stairs in unison, both children were historically crying. I think they actually figured out what the word respect means......to shay!
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 01:39:16 +0000
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