Mothering Mistakes 101

Everybody makes mistakes. But, I think I just made a bad (okay, it REALLY could have been worse) mothering mistake. A few weeks ago, I was thinking about how Jack has entered the being-a-helper-in-everything-I-do stage. As I pondered what chores and/or responsibilities would seem realistic for a 20 month old, I decided that he could start putting his cup in the sink (or fridge) after meals. I figured his plate would be too hard, but a sippy cup, no problem. Well, I tried it ONCE and he LOVED helping. But, I think where I REALLY made the mistake was my choice of words. Here is what I started saying, "Jack, if you are done with your cup/drink, please put it in the sink." Now, if the drink wasn't gone, I would open the fridge and say, "Please put your cup in the fridge, you can have it later." The latter statement seems fine. No problems. But somehow my little man transferred the information of "if you are done with *blank*, please put it in the sink. Once again, not too bad of a problem until I started filling half the sink with soapy water and dirty dishes after meals. So, let me give you an example. Mind you, the sink is full of water and grime...Jack is playing and all the sudden, in his mind, he is done playing with his stuffed dog...before I can catch him, in goes "Doggy" into the water. Ten minutes later, I find my shoe, then I find Linus (his blanket). So, I get smart(er)...I drain the water. Ugh. Nope. Doesn't stop him. Thankfully, I have caught him from throwing over books, Jeff's IPOD (shhh!), and a number of other things. So, the moral of the story is...Don't give your kids responsibilities...they take them WAY TOO far! Just kidding...the real moral is, don't teach your kid under the age of 2 to put their dishes in the sink...try saying "COUNTER" instead.