I pride myself in trying to be a “cool mom” and allowing my kids to explore and try new things -to enjoy life, always have fun, and play. To be kids!! I rarely scold but try to take the opportunity to see things from their viewpoint. This strategy takes on a much more delightful form to parenting.
Over Christmas my kids loving aunt bought them the ‘Pie in the Face’ game. For those of you who are not familiar with it, picture Russian Roulette with whipped cream – in a convenient little box. Who came up with this idea???
And so, the other day my son and his best friend (since birth I might add) are playing together and they decide to pull out the game. I was pretty proud of them for not hitting the TV or computer screen but finding something else to do with their time together. I guess boys will be boys though. They got into the fridge to get the whipped cream and discovered – lo and behold – the ketchup. This is one of those parenting moments where you really think you are on auto-pilot them WHAM. After all, the boys are now 7. I am finally passed the reminder stage of “Wash your hands”, “Shut off the lights” or “Flush the toilet”. So I should not have to say, “Remember to use whipped cream and not ketchup with that game.”
I guess I can chalk this experience up to what our parent’s may have faced before the advent of home computers and the Internet. Does anyone remember mud pies? And how proud you were, bringing that into the house for mom to see? I’m sure the same thought process runs parallel to the situation I was now facing. Part of me has to give the boys credit for their creativity – literally thinking “outside the box”.
The moment first hit me when I opened the fridge to find the whipped cream still in its same spot in the door of the fridge. First thought – “How many cans of this do I have???” Second thought – “Oh my gosh, only one!” Third thought – “What on earth are the boys using???” Off I sprinted to find them.
Walking into my bathroom became another story. It was like walking into a scene from ‘The Shining’ and I half expected to find REDRUM written on the mirror. And while the walls looked like a mass murder scene the takeaway of this experience is they learned another skill – cleaning.
I can hang onto my pride for another day at least. Fostering creativity and a clean home. All in a day’s work.
myjobasamom 