Just today, my 4 year old daughter dawned a sopping wet face towel and informed me that she was going to "clean all the 'dirty' and 'sticky' spots on the (tile) floor".
"Is that alright with you Daddy?", she asked.
'Absolutely", I said not wanting to disuade her from her spontaneous cleaning mood.
After a few minutes I inspected some of the tiles she was wiping down and realized that the face towel was far too loaded down with water. She was going to be unintentionally creating a temporary domestic hazard as all the tiles she had wiped were glistening wet with her good intentions.
"Wait. We've got to wring that out just a little bit", I said. She handed me the towel and I went and squeezed it out in the sink and handed the truly damp face cloth back to her. "Here you go. Now you're ready to do your magic", I said. "Thanks Daddy", she replied.
"Your welcome. Thank you", I praised!
With that she was off, diligently crawling around on the floor cleaning what she decided were sticky or dirty spots. I certainly didn't want to steal my child's thunder on this one. I cheered from the sidelines every so often "You go Girl"!
It makes me wonder how it will be further on down the road. Will she continue to actually 'want' to help with the family chores? Perhaps. It could actually happen. It was fun to watch. She even went into the bathroom and wiped down what she could reach of the basin's mirrors.
I made a point of giving her a final praising when she was done. Then she shared with me a little 'cleaning song' that she had created as she was tidying up the premesis according to her own judgment of what exactly needed her expert attention. It was very cute, both the song and her aspiration to help with a domestic task. I have been employing her talents a lot lately as she is thrilled and eager to help. She has been my little 'fetcher' for various items that I require at different times. She has been eager to help and I have been happy to enlist her help as I have realized she is capable. The tasks still have to be chaperoned to a certain degree, but that is expected although it seems a little less so as time goes on. It's a blessing to have such an enthusiastic little helper in the house!
"Is that alright with you Daddy?", she asked.
'Absolutely", I said not wanting to disuade her from her spontaneous cleaning mood.
After a few minutes I inspected some of the tiles she was wiping down and realized that the face towel was far too loaded down with water. She was going to be unintentionally creating a temporary domestic hazard as all the tiles she had wiped were glistening wet with her good intentions.
"Wait. We've got to wring that out just a little bit", I said. She handed me the towel and I went and squeezed it out in the sink and handed the truly damp face cloth back to her. "Here you go. Now you're ready to do your magic", I said. "Thanks Daddy", she replied.
"Your welcome. Thank you", I praised!
With that she was off, diligently crawling around on the floor cleaning what she decided were sticky or dirty spots. I certainly didn't want to steal my child's thunder on this one. I cheered from the sidelines every so often "You go Girl"!
It makes me wonder how it will be further on down the road. Will she continue to actually 'want' to help with the family chores? Perhaps. It could actually happen. It was fun to watch. She even went into the bathroom and wiped down what she could reach of the basin's mirrors.
I made a point of giving her a final praising when she was done. Then she shared with me a little 'cleaning song' that she had created as she was tidying up the premesis according to her own judgment of what exactly needed her expert attention. It was very cute, both the song and her aspiration to help with a domestic task. I have been employing her talents a lot lately as she is thrilled and eager to help. She has been my little 'fetcher' for various items that I require at different times. She has been eager to help and I have been happy to enlist her help as I have realized she is capable. The tasks still have to be chaperoned to a certain degree, but that is expected although it seems a little less so as time goes on. It's a blessing to have such an enthusiastic little helper in the house!