9/4/09 Helping each other

For the most part, any "help" the kids give me is mostly "work" for me. I always feel like they get away with way too much, don't have enough responsibility, and they resist and complain if I do ask them to do things. I don't know yet how to fix that; it's so, so, SO much work to get them to do the smallest things, and I often just don't have the energy. Still, they think everything in life just comes to them. While there's no denying they come from privilege, I don't want them to grow up thinking they're going to be waited on all their lives.

But every so often my sparse efforts yield some good influence. Today Katrina wanted to set the table.


Then she ran outside to play on her "new" bicycle. Minutes later, I heard ear-piercing shrieks -- that is, more than usual -- and went out to reprimand Julian -- because he's usually behind them. Turns out, he was causing her shrieking, because he insisted she put her bicycle helmet on!

Then he spent a long, long, long time dutifully helping her ride her bicycle on the narrow strip that is left of our former yard. She can't turn her bicycle around, or even get it started pedaling on the uneven surface, and would screech for him to help her. And he did, again and again and again. He'd get on her bicycle to re-position it, or push her to get her going, only for her to get stuck a few seconds later and demand more help.


I was really heartwarmed to see how sweet and patient he was. She was really not grateful at all. In fact, she completely expected it. We're going to have to work on that. There's too much entitlement mentality going on around here.

9/4/09