A Neat and Clean House vs Children
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| 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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No, on two counts. First, my dh and I were very picky eaters growing up. But as adults we will both eat just about anything. So that tells me that eating a limited range of foods as a child does not necessarily mean an adult will eat a limited range a foods, and therefore I'm willing to entertain the children's pickiness. Second, if my child grows up and marries someone I would hope that as a spouse they will not need a separate meal cooked, that the adults wishes will be incorporated into the original meal planning. If as a spouse they are hearing "no, you will eat whatever I choose to serve or you can make your own PB&J" then they may want to rethink the relationship, or seek counseling together.
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We've got two ovens (very old range that came with the house). I have to say that while I never would have thought it useful before I actually had it, the double oven has been brilliant. Dh often uses both when making large batches of croissants (when making 150 to 200 at a time, being able to bake in batches of two saves a heck of a lot of time), and I can plan meals that might require two different temperatures for two types of dishes. It's easier for me when making multiple pizzas as well...
That's the way I do it - so yummy.
Makes sense, which brings it right back to different people having different abilities. DH and I can swim, we teach our kids to swim. I can tell my kids how to change a tire, but I can't demonstrate it. If my kids can change a tire great, if they can't physically do it then good thing there are other options than always doing something one way, or always doing it yourself.
Ten Rules for Being Human
Malcolm Gladwell Blink
Agree!
And I LOVE to cook. I like to chop and stir and taste and season and turn things, etc.
Probably not so different from what we do here. If dh is making a meal he knows everyone will eat except one child, he also considers what can go with it that that child will eat, that everyone else can share in too. But it's part of the meal planning. If something is made that we know ODD will eat and once we sit at the table and she's refusing to eat it, we don't get up and make something else from scratch.
For my YDD it's a little different, I need her to eat, she sometimes can't have what everyone else is having preparing separate meals for her is a regular thing because of her dietary restrictions. So if she is sitting at the table given her age and size and special needs, I will get up and make something else. It won't take a long time, just so she gets food into her. But there are times when we are cooking and we are cooking one meal for everyone and cooking one meal for her at the same time (like what polkadot described), that happens and is not a problem either.
Ten Rules for Being Human
Malcolm Gladwell Blink
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