Well, summer break has officially started and I have decided that this summer deserves a nickname all its own. Therefore welcome to the Season of the Witch (with many apologies to Donovan for his cool song does deserve better). See I will be imposing rules and chores, explaining responsibility, and requiring duties at a rapid pace and I'm NOT talking about me here. I have two teenagers, one of whom will be deemed old enough to drive by the end of the summer. So somebody explain to me why he's not old enough to drive the weed eater?
Now please don't think that I haven't been doing this all along. They've always had "age appropriate" chores. But I do find myself pushing more and more their way and noticing that I seem to (according to them...but who really trusts what a teenager has to say about work or pleasure) make them do more than some of their peers. Well, too bad for my kids, I say. There simply is no reason that kids who are taller and stronger than me should sit inside in that glorious invention called air conditioning, while I tackle the horror that is our yard. Same thing for the household chores. I'm not raising royalty here.
I just finished reading a Sookie Stackhouse book, "Dead in the Family", (the book series that True Blood was created from). In this particular one, Alexei, the Russian Tsarevich who was brutally murdered in 1918, had been turned into a vampire. He was a pretty bad vampire and part of the reasoning is that he had been so pampered in real life that he had a very hard time understanding an inability to do what he wants when he wants it. Which sounds chillingly like my teenagers. So in the interest of the future world order...or maybe just so any future in-laws won't constantly be blaming me...'tis the Season of the Witch. Now they better go pick up my broom and start using it...
thank you for prompting me to spank my 8 year old into shape this summer with some chores. he thinks he's royalty.
ReplyDeleteas far as the Vamp books go, i'm waiting for The Vampire Strikes Back to come out.
Honestly? My father had us picking berries in our backyard (and we had a huge garden!) for the summer at 25 cents a day. Although we were paid, opting out of the program wasn't an option. I had my first part time job when I was 15 and worked throughout university. It concerns me that young people are encouraged and flattered into doing nothing, expecting the world to care for them.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the "work ethic" is something children choose. It's something they're taught and a necessary precursor to their independence as adults.
Sheilah - I'm sure he will appreciate it - once he's 30! Flower Power Mom - I think this is where us "older" moms come into play. As a teenager in the '60's, I don't think I knew anyone who didn't have a job. Now I see these kids driving nicer cars than I could afford out of college and they've never made a dime in their lives. I completely agree. A "work ethic" is taught, and I aim to do exactly that!
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