A Neat and Clean House vs Children

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-17-2007
A Neat and Clean House vs Children
2597
Tue, 07-27-2010 - 8:35am

For those of you who like a neat and clean house, how do you keep it that way with children?

I find that if I am tied to goal of having a neat and clean house, I become a raging shrew against my children as they proceed to undo all the neatness I have worked so hard to attain. If I made a "neat and clean house" my goal, my children would not have their messy projects that take days/weeks to complete. My children would not pick up a book (casually left out)as they walk through the family room and browse through- discovering once again the mother actually knows about a few good books. I would let them watch more tv/computer time, as they don't make things as messy when they do. I would squash their ideas if I thought it would make too much of a mess. I wouldn't let them cook/experiment in the kitchen- as it is usually more work for me to clean up after they have "cleaned up". So, how do you inspire creativity and imagination in a neat and clean house? Are you on top of them to put things away as soon as they are done even if it is temporary? Where do you put the legos?....... Have you ever allowed them to take over the living room with all of their toys arranged in a city complex (thomas the train things were the Metro, legos and blocks were the buildings....)? How long would it stay up? Would let it be up for the summer so they could add to and change tings around as they got new ideas? Or allowed them to take over half of the family room for a month+ while they build and live in a beaver lodge (using all the empty shoe and other boxes and some that weren't empty)? Even if you have to walk around it everyday to get to the kitchen? Or do you require that all toys be put away everyday?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 7:28am

dh and ex would help with flat tires -- although I've never had one go flat when driving.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 7:34am
i believe that they now have special trucks for flat tires and dead batteries.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-08-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 7:38am
Probably the person who has taught my boys the most about basic auto maintenance is my sister, who restores classic Mustangs as a hobby. I am not sure what you are getting at with the "it's not all about you," but if you are arguing that it is better to depend on others to perform basic life skills for you, I totally disagree. I want my kids to be as competent as possible in negotiating their way through life, and not have to depend on other people for things they could, and should, be doing for themselves.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-15-2006
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 7:40am

yes, responsibility does take different forms.

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-08-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 7:43am
The notion that is takes a "professional" to jump start a vehicle or change a tire is risible, but I certainly do not want to infringe on your right to be helpless in the face of minor breakdowns.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-15-2006
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 7:44am
LOL, you haven't lived unless you've had a double oven.

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-17-2007
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 7:44am
One of my newly acquired specialties (not quite a super power) is to drive over a nail that creates a slow leak. My "new" car (it's three this month) has a special light that comes on when a tire is too low.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-17-2007
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 7:48am

How often do you use them at the same time? I can only think of once or thrice a year, when it would be great to have two ovens. That isn't enough "need" for me to do it. It just means I have pay more attention to the planning of a big meal (like Yule or Thanksgiving).

Avatar for rollmops2009
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 7:50am

I think it is a misunderstanding, which is not unusual on this board. It seems that some posters take your argument to mean that you, personally, must teach all the necessary skills. I imagine that when you say that you want to make sure your kid learns X, it means that you might teach him yourself or cause him to be taught by someone else.

At least that is how I approach it. I had zero desire to teach dd a foreign language, for example, but I made sure she learned anyway. Ditto for a bunch of other skills along the way. In fact, a ploy that often worked with my particular kid was to motivate her to go learn X more or less by herself.


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Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness.
– George Orwell
Avatar for rollmops2009
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 7:54am
My mother had 2 ovens and used them all the time. But she used to bake a lot and entertain a fair amount. With 2 ovens you can bake your own bread every day, for example, and not have it interfere with the cooking. I cook many meats and most fish in the oven, but because I only have one, I have to time any cakes or breads around it, which can be a bit of a pain.

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Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness.
– George Orwell

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