Don't Be Surprised

You'd be surprised at how much your kids can help. When I had only one child I did everything with one arm while I held Rachel in the other. When Hannah came along it didn't take long to realize they have to help. At first it was Rachel entertaining Hannah but soon became two girls sitting on the counter and standing on a chair
at the sink. There was even a day when (gasp) I washed Hannah's feet and put her feet in the sink to wash veggies with lots of bubbles. She thought she was playing and I got some kitchen work done. When you have small children you will be home more so you can take a little more time to get work done. If a child can pull a toy out, she can clean it up. If he can walk by himself, he can carry his plate to the sink (which he has eaten everything off of.) For years we only had comforters and pillows on the beds so that the girls could make their own beds easily. Things go slowly at first but in the years to come your patience in teaching them to help pays off with children who can run a household smoothly. When children learn the value of work and diligence they are learning to serve. They are learning a lot more than the house looks nice when it's clean. They are learning that life is not just about them and meeting their own needs, but living with others and serving others. Besides when you have teenagers and can leave them home to go out on a date with your husband, you can enjoy yourself knowing the house won't be hit by a tornado. They might even have time to make homemade cinnamon rolls while your gone:), which is what happened on my last date.
The picture on the left is Sarah tilling in the garden at age 1o. Ray had to go back over what she did but the following year she was even more help. The picture on the right was taken by Hannah, then 12, making cookies with Mary and Lydia; I wasn't even home.