Do you make them help out with house work? Who, you ask me? Well, the kids, of course. Do you make them help you with your house chores? Well, I do. I’m not exactly’ loving mother of the year’ material like most doting mothers out there, but I can definitely win the Evil Stepmother award if someone were to nominate me for it.
Yups… I do make my boy help out with housework like Cinderella, whether he likes it or not. And since now it’s school holiday, I made it a point to make him sweep the floor and picks up rubbish around the house almost everyday. If I spotted any dirt that bothers me, I’ll just yell for him to clean it up for me instead of cleaning it up myself.
Just last week, I enjoyed reading one of my favourite comic while my son cleans up the whole livingroom. I was practically shaking my legs while listening to music while he was buzzing around with the broomstick and throwing rubbish into the wastebasket.
My son wasn’t so happy with the fact that I was enjoying myself while he had to sweep the floor and clean up the whole house, of course, but I made him see and understand that this is exactly how I felt when he messed up the house and I had to clean up after him. I gave him no reward for helping me clean the house either. I told him that I got no reward when I clean the house, and so he’ll share the same fate as me. 😀
*GRINZ* I noticed that now that he knows that his mum won’t let him off for making a mess, he’s extra careful not to make any mess on purpose. And if he did, I noticed that lately, he’ll quickly sweep it away before I made him clean up the entire house again. ROFLOL.
So… what finally turned on my evil stepmother mode, you ask me? Well, I got fed up of not getting any help around the house. I got tired of picking up and cleaning up after people’s mess and since I don’t have a maid to help me out, I thought that my son will do just fine. And I was right. LOL.
You see, my husband don’t really help out with housework unless I coerce him into it, and as a wife, I don’t really approve this unhelpfulness. I don’t suppose this can be helped, though. The chauvinistic attitude must have come from his upbringing, just like my own father and my grandfather.
My father and grandfather comes from a typical Peranakan family while my husband comes from a typical Chinese family. Like both my father and grandfather, my husband were probably taught that it was women’s job to do all the washing and cleaning at home, and therefore he don’t think it’s part of his job description to help out with housework voluntarily.
I always thinks that it is ridiculous to let women pick up after men’s dirty stuff. We’re not cleaners, you know? The ‘cleaning is women’s job’ kind of thinking must be stopped at some generation somehow, and it must be stopped at this generation.
I can’t change my husband, my father or my grandfather, but I certainly can shape my son and make sure that he knows that it won’t be his future wife’s job to do all the bloody dirty things, and if he messed up, he’ll have to clean up!
I know, I know, quite a twisted logic, no? LOL…but hey, at least when he’s all grown up and have a wife of his own, at least she’ll say that I brought him up well and teaches their children the same value. 😛
Cleffairy: Next on my list would be making him mop the floor, do the dishes and do all the dirty laundry at home while I supervise (in case it’s not clean enough). This will continue even when the school reopens. Don’t worry, it won’t interfere with his studies. I’ll make sure of that.*EVIL GRINZ* Who needs a maid when you can get your son to be useful around the house? And no, I don’t feel guilty for doing that. Why should I? He’s old enough and sons are supposed to be helpful like that. *smiles innocently*
*nod nod I agree with u, make it a habit for them, helping around the house won’t hurt them, after all they are the one mess up the places, kiahahahahaha! Kena belajar from you liao!
Wakakakaakakakak… Alice, laugh until so evil. *nods* I approve, ada bakat jadi evil stepmother. Haiyorr, must ask them do housework oso la… else will gila la if nobody help u around the house and needs to clean up after them. I got really fed up, u kno, and now that he’s old enough…i get him to do those light things…. sapu sampah, kutip sampah…mostly in living room la. Mwhahaha… next up, teach him how to mop.
I helped my mum all the time to do all kinds of chores…but we did it together or she would do something else at the same time – not relaxing and enjoying herself like you. Tsk! Tsk! Come to think of it, my brother was not so much into it…so it is quite obvious that they’re not as close. Not that much mother-child bonding perhaps… He missed out on that when he was young, I guess.
Kakakaka…. I needed a break ma…so biar anak do the work while I rest la. Else I jatuh sakit again how? Susah lo. *innocent face* Mwhahahahaha! I tarak force him wan leh… I buat muka kesian, pretend sakit and pening kepala…and told him that all the mess made me sakit… he fell for it den slowly slowly angkat penyapu, what can I do? LOL! He wan help, I wun say no! LOL!
ANyway, I think it’s good to teach them to help out…hopefully, he will turn out a very helpful and filial son like you when he grows up. 😀
Me and my bro took turn to do house work when we started primary school. One would sweep and mop the floor and another would clean the dishes. We had this for many years until my bro went to overseas to study, I got to do all as no one would rotate with me. Hehehe.
As for my kids, the girl will help us vacuum the whole house while the boy is still fear of the vacuum cleaner due to its noise. Both will help me hang the clothes. Half playing but at least they get it done. Oh I always make them clean up their own mess. I have no maid at home too, so everyone just have to help.
It’s a good thing that u teach the kids to help out with the chores, liddat they will know how to appreciate what you do more and wun simply mess up things. It’s good to see that alot of mummies shares the same opinion with me in regards asking children to help out around the house… u see… some parents really spoil their kids wan, until the kids oso have their own personal maid to do things for them. 🙁 The lifestyle of the rich…school bag oso budak ask maid to carry for them. Grow up I dono la apa nak jadi to such children.
Sometimes I feel that my kids love to mess the house coz they will get the chance to play with the broom!
****evil laugh……****
Penyakit berjangkit from Cikgu. Tsk tsk tsk~