Help your kids do their own laundry - with a cool easy project

I decided that my kids were totally old enough to help me so I wasn't so overwhelmed with laundry.  I really mainly only have my 8 year old and by 6 year old do theirs.  I have them dump their stuff in the washing machine and I take it from there - I do the soap and I transfer it to the dryer but once it is dry I have them bring our green basket and take it from the dryer to the living room.  My four year old brings his too and I at least have him fold his pants but the process takes.a.long.time.

They  have their ways of doing it.  My son dumps it all in a pile on the floor while watching TV.  I have encouraged him to do what my daughter does to make it easier.  See the picture below.

So here it is:

Step 1.  Take laundry from dryer to room where you are going to fold it.

Step 2.  Separate clothes into categories.  My daughter had me make signs for her - pants, shirts, skirts for the girls, pajamas and socks and undies.



Step 3.  Fold.  Below is a video of a little invention I made for them to make folding easier.

* I got this idea from reading I Heart Organizing's blog a long time ago.  She had a picture of this thing.  It is a FLIPFOLDER from the Container store and it costs $21.99. 



 Get one if you want or if you happen to have a thin, long box that used to hold wipes like this one:

from Sam's Club

Then you can do this on the video below.  I used these basic instructions but really I just kind of figured it out myself.  




Step 4.  Put away - "Please, put them away.  Please put away your clothes.  Could you please put away those clothes.  Can you get the clothes off the Futon and put them away in your drawers?  Please."  Let's be honest that is how it usually goes.



 

Gentle Parenting

My daughter has a little girl in her school who can't talk and has to be fed through a feeding tube.  Long story short my daughter loves this girl and helps her in school (she goes to a small Montessori school).

I met her nurse (the lady that helps her during school) and she told me how much she liked Makenna and what a big help she was with this little girl.  She also said something that struck me, "You can tell the families that practice gentle parenting."

It is something I have been thinking a lot about since then.

Gentle parenting, what does that mean exactly?

For us I think it means that we love our kiddos to pieces and take every opportunity to tell them so.  We remind them that we love them but we also show them by spending time with them and doing things with them and being around them.

I'll just say it - I don't believe spanking gets at the heart of an issue.  I didn't tell you what you should or shouldn't do.  I won't tell you that.

I will say that, for us, corpral punishment is something that is a VERY last resort and it is rarely used and I am looking at phasing it out completely.

I will say that I can't stand people that use the "spare the rod spoil the child" Proverb as an excuse to just beat their kids.

I make mistakes.  I yell too much.  I get annoyed and angry and selfish.

“We need days of failure because they help humble us, and through them we can see how God's grace is poured out on the humble.”
― Elyse Fitzpatrick, Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus 

But I am practicing giving more grace each day to my kiddos.

And I am trying to be worthy to be told that I practice gentle parenting.  I hope I do.

It doesn't mean I let my kids run wild without discipline.  But discipline doesn't have to be in the form of physical punishment and I don't believe I'm going against the Bible when I choose not to use it.

I don't believe we can give too much grace.  God never ceases to give us grace.

“The gospel frees us from demanding our own way, because nothing we desire to obtain is worth sinning against such love and kindness.”
― Elyse Fitzpatrick, Because He Loves Me: How Christ Transforms Our Daily Life

 

Worst Case Scenario Parenting

A friend was over a couple of weeks ago and one of my kids did something (I can't remember now what it was) - but my friend looked at me and said she could never let her kids do that.

She didn't say it in a mean way just kind of an astounded way.  I think it was because it would cause too much of a mess.  I totally understand that.

Lately though I have started using what I like to call "Worst Case Scenario Parenting".  It basically goes like this - the kids ask me if they can do something.  I then think of most of the possible scenarios that could happen if they did "that" and I get to the worst one.

Then I decide if I could live with that happening and still keep my sanity.  If so the answer is yes.  And you know what?   I say yes a lot more these days.

"Mom, can sissy and I play with the role of toilet paper?"   In my head I can't think of a worst case scenario here except we would waste some toilet paper.  I said yes.  Guess what happened - they put most of it down the toilet and some in the sink.  Guess what then happened?  I fished it out of the sink and my husband unclogged the toilet.

Big deal - not really.  Inconvenient - maybe.

"Mom, can I put my wrestlers in the salt tray?"

"Mom, can I use these ingredients to make something gross and then microwave it?"

"Mom, can I jump from this part of the deck?"

"Mommy, can I give you a manicure?"

"Mommy, can we play on the clothes pile?"

"Mom, can I wear my Batman costume to the wedding?"

"Mom, can I put the baby in a  . . ." NO!

My no answers usually involve questions about what they can and can't do with the baby.  I do draw the line somewhere. 

My point is that kids need to explore.  They need to make a mess sometimes.  They need to fail.  And what better place to fail than at home with parents who hopefully love them and tell them it is okay to fail, just don't stop trying.

Over the last couple of days we have had to unclog the toilet twice.  I had to get the wire cutters and cut off a measuring cup from my daughter's finger (she stuck it through the hole in the end).  I have had to sweep up broken glass at least three times.  We use glass.  The kids use glass.  Glass breaks.  We sweep it up.

"Mom, can I put my WWE belt on the baby?"

"Mom, can I make the baby a play area?"

"Mom, can I set the table with little wrestlers?"  Okay so she didn't ask me on this one.

Every parent is different. But give it a try.  Just think of the worst thing that could happen - and then realize that it is not that bad.  (Use common sense of course).

I realize this will mean more mess for you.  But we should all realize that kids are young for about 5 minutes and what do you want them to remember?  How neat your house was or how wonderful their home was.

Update:  I did forget to add that I do require them to clean up their mess when they are done.  This takes some work but they are getting better.