Insert sarcasm.
Maybe an eyeroll for good measure.
Wait... now I'm acting like my tween. *sighs*
Between about age ten (when they're just getting their big kid bearings) and age thirteen (when they're officially teens), we have the tweens.
That's where we are now with our princess.
She's a ball of sunshine, and she's extremely sensitive and also very intelligent. This girl amazes us with her wit. She's also super talented and can draw anything.
... but for some reason her hands and feet get sick when it's time to clean her space.
Y'all I'm NOT a neat freak. My home is clean for sure, but it's obvious there are kids here and I don't nag after them to make the house look like a show model. (Although it did before kids...*sighs*)
We travel a whole lot. We are almost constantly on the move, for days or even weeks at a time depending on hubby's schedule and my willingness to go where he does. So I get it-- when we're NOT in a hotel (where we do nothing but tidy the suite) or in transit, everyone wants to decompress and just chill in their space. Something about being on the road makes being home almost inexplicably nice.
Our princess will be twelve in September.
If she had her way, she'd play Minecraft all morning, Legend of Zelda all evening, and text memes to her bestie the rest of the time. She still likes to participate in family activities... but marginally. With no siblings close to her age--she is literally the only child in the house over the age of 3... and we don't live near any relatives now--I definitely understand her boredom. I'm an adult and there's only so much Mickey Mouse I can stand and I'm only able to do Legos for short stretches before my brain shuts down.
When I was her age... *cute the dramatic segue into the Dark Ages*... I had chores. Nothing too crazy, now. I had to clean my room and my bathroom, help tend the pets, and assist with yard work as needed. We cleaned house on Saturdays, which was also my wash day. (By wash, I mean laundry. Baths were daily; we weren't allowed to skip!)
As such, my girl has similar chores. (She doesn't weed flower beds or cut grass though. Pansy.) She's expected to clean her space, clean herself, and basically just not be one more person I have to chase with a baby wipe and strain remover all day. The only chore she has that isn't directly related to her own personal space is the afternoon dishes. The afternoon dishes usually consist of a plate or two, or whatever utensils used after breakfast. #soMuchWork #meanParents
You'd think she could remember these few honeydos easily, especially since she prefers an organized space and doesn't care for clutter.
... right.
Just look under her bed. *cringe*
Right now I'm in drill sergeant mode. If it's left on the floor, it's taken away. If it's not kept clean enough, it might just be tossed. She loses electronics and screen time when I have to remind her more than once about her laundry or taking the trash out.
I was not quite prepared for the tween lazies, especially from my once-tidy little ladybug. Seriously, when she was a tiny tot, she took great joy in organizing and staging her room. Now she's allergic to the vacuum and making the bed is against her religion. *sighs heavily*
I'm determined to not be that naggy mom, and I prefer not to micromanage too much, but I'm struggling here. I was NOT ready for this part of the game.
My big issue is, not doing it for her. Like, there's something about the way she sweeps a floor that makes my skin crawl. Also I don't understand why she doesn't turn the water off while washing dishes. (I do step in there-- one because WASTEFUL MUCH and two because HEY, WE ONLY PAY FOR THAT!)
Thankfully she's still a very sweet kid. Minimal attitude. Other than her lackadaisical approach to chores, I'm only ever put off by her disinterest in EVERYTHING that isn't directly related to her. She isn't very moody or mean spirited. She's never actually given us back talk. (Best for her, because I don't play that.)
I still feel like I hit the lottery with this kid. She's a treasure. We just have to work on this laziness because it severely irritates me.
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