Today, I'm overwhelmed by the trail of mess my youngest child has left behind. She's a Tasmanian Devil (and if you remember the old Looney Toons cartoons... she even makes the noises while she's running around... spitting craft supplies, dolls, paper schnibbles, clothes and mayhem in her wake). I'm not sure how to get through to her. She's begun to think that "putting stuff away" means plopping it in the center of the carpet of any given room. I know she knows where it goes, because when someone says "where are the crayons?" She goes to the aptly named "Craft Cabinet" and looks around. They aren't there because she's left them in the center of the carpet, but can't see them any more because they are under a pile.
I'm afraid, the only choice I have left is to motivate her by loss. Yes, loss. She doesn't care about her things, or our things, so the only choice I have left is to permanently remove them from her. She was given a blanket this weekend as an early Valentine's gift. It's in the center of the floor in my living room. It's mine now. I just need to find a place to put it to keep it safe (after all it's brand new).
Unfortunately too, the only answer I have left for her today is "No, you may not." I hate saying no to her... it feels like I'm crushing her individuality. Then again, constantly being frustrated and annoyed with her behavior is probably also not helping her self-esteem. And really, this isn't about self-esteem, is it?
It's really about respect. Can she respect herself enough to not be a complete slob? Can she respect that people have worked hard in order to be able to afford to purchase her the things she has? She's going to have to learn. And I'm pretty sure no one is going to like it.
So now, I'm off to motivate myself into grabbing some storage bins to pack up all the stuff she didn't put away. I should probably steel myself for the wailing and gnashing of teeth... Oh, it's going to be awesome alright!
No comments:
Post a Comment