Sunday, January 28, 2007
are you a lazy or a crazy mom?
This was posted on a message board over at lots of kids by one of the moms.
By Tracy Gibson
Here are ten ways that you can tell if you are a “crazy” mom or a “lazy” mom:
1. A “crazy” mom spends every night gathering together the things her children need for the next day. Then, she proceeds to pack their backpacks and lunches. A “lazy” mom spends some concentrated effort in training her kids to be responsible for their own things and to help pack the lunches. Then she will never have to pack a backpack again.
2. A “crazy” mom does everyone’s laundry. Then, she spends hours folding it and putting it away. A “lazy” mom teaches her children to do their own laundry. When her children are toddlers, she teaches them to fold wash cloths. By the time they are 7 or 8 years old they are doing their own laundry and she never has to do it for them again.
3. A “crazy” mom cleans her whole house herself, every week. A “lazy” mom trains her kids to do the cleaning. If she has many children, I have five, she won’t have to do any of the regular cleaning herself.
4. A “crazy” mom goes through her house, picking up glasses, dishes, shoes, dirty socks, and toys, in an effort to keep the house clean, in spite of her children. A “lazy” mom calls the child to pick up afterhim/herself. She will even resort to dishing out extra chores to kids who won’t stop leaving messes around. Her goal is to never have to pick up after her children again.
5. The “crazy” mom encounters an over flowing trash can and takes it out herself. The “lazy” mom has assigned one of her children to be in charge of trash and calls him/her in to take it out. She even has a child to take out the recycling.
6. A “crazy” mom cooks a wonderful dinner, sets the table, serves the meal, clears the table, and does the dishes herself. A “lazy” mom has a cook’s helper, a table setter, and a server. She sits down and enjoys her meal. The dishwashers take care of the cleaning and the washing. Who are these helpers, you may ask. Why, her children and her husband, of course. She took the time to train the children to do these chores and then assigned the jobs to them.
7. A “crazy” mom drives her children to Sports, lessons, meetings, and more. A “lazy” mom arranges her life to stay home as much as possible. She limits her children’s outside activities to one, or at most two, outings a week. She finds that she and the kids are happier at home and many special projects get finished.
8. A “crazy” mom often feels taken for granted and may begin to resent her family’s dependence on her.A “lazy” mom is free to do little things for her kids, out of love, and to honor them. Things she used to feel she had to do, now become thoughtful favors for the ones she loves.
9. A “crazy” mom may find her children are not equipped to face adult responsibilities when they leave the nest. A “lazy” mom can rest in confidence that she helped build maturity in her children and gave them the skills they needed to build strong families of their own.
10. The “crazy” mom loves her kids and is just doing what she thinks she should. I hope she reads this article, and starts being a little “lazy”. The “lazy” mom, well, I guess she isn’t really “lazy” at all, just smart.
What do you think? Are you a lazy or a crazy mom? Please share. I will come back later and let you know which one I am.
Editors Note: Thanks for commenting ladies. I am neither a lazy or a crazy. I think i am somewhere in between. I was the youngest of five kids and by the time I was school aged all of my siblings had letf the nest. My mom loved doing for me (because she only had one now) so I never really learned how to pick up after myself, etc.. I went from my parents house to being a married working woman at the age of 20 and had no idea what I was doing. So, I try to teach my kids and let them know we are a team who need to work together to get things done. They all have chores which they are responsible for doing. I do have to admit that I feel a pang of guilt at times that I am not pampering my kids like my mom pampered me, but I know in my heart it is really for their own good.
By Tracy Gibson
Here are ten ways that you can tell if you are a “crazy” mom or a “lazy” mom:
1. A “crazy” mom spends every night gathering together the things her children need for the next day. Then, she proceeds to pack their backpacks and lunches. A “lazy” mom spends some concentrated effort in training her kids to be responsible for their own things and to help pack the lunches. Then she will never have to pack a backpack again.
2. A “crazy” mom does everyone’s laundry. Then, she spends hours folding it and putting it away. A “lazy” mom teaches her children to do their own laundry. When her children are toddlers, she teaches them to fold wash cloths. By the time they are 7 or 8 years old they are doing their own laundry and she never has to do it for them again.
3. A “crazy” mom cleans her whole house herself, every week. A “lazy” mom trains her kids to do the cleaning. If she has many children, I have five, she won’t have to do any of the regular cleaning herself.
4. A “crazy” mom goes through her house, picking up glasses, dishes, shoes, dirty socks, and toys, in an effort to keep the house clean, in spite of her children. A “lazy” mom calls the child to pick up afterhim/herself. She will even resort to dishing out extra chores to kids who won’t stop leaving messes around. Her goal is to never have to pick up after her children again.
5. The “crazy” mom encounters an over flowing trash can and takes it out herself. The “lazy” mom has assigned one of her children to be in charge of trash and calls him/her in to take it out. She even has a child to take out the recycling.
6. A “crazy” mom cooks a wonderful dinner, sets the table, serves the meal, clears the table, and does the dishes herself. A “lazy” mom has a cook’s helper, a table setter, and a server. She sits down and enjoys her meal. The dishwashers take care of the cleaning and the washing. Who are these helpers, you may ask. Why, her children and her husband, of course. She took the time to train the children to do these chores and then assigned the jobs to them.
7. A “crazy” mom drives her children to Sports, lessons, meetings, and more. A “lazy” mom arranges her life to stay home as much as possible. She limits her children’s outside activities to one, or at most two, outings a week. She finds that she and the kids are happier at home and many special projects get finished.
8. A “crazy” mom often feels taken for granted and may begin to resent her family’s dependence on her.A “lazy” mom is free to do little things for her kids, out of love, and to honor them. Things she used to feel she had to do, now become thoughtful favors for the ones she loves.
9. A “crazy” mom may find her children are not equipped to face adult responsibilities when they leave the nest. A “lazy” mom can rest in confidence that she helped build maturity in her children and gave them the skills they needed to build strong families of their own.
10. The “crazy” mom loves her kids and is just doing what she thinks she should. I hope she reads this article, and starts being a little “lazy”. The “lazy” mom, well, I guess she isn’t really “lazy” at all, just smart.
What do you think? Are you a lazy or a crazy mom? Please share. I will come back later and let you know which one I am.
Editors Note: Thanks for commenting ladies. I am neither a lazy or a crazy. I think i am somewhere in between. I was the youngest of five kids and by the time I was school aged all of my siblings had letf the nest. My mom loved doing for me (because she only had one now) so I never really learned how to pick up after myself, etc.. I went from my parents house to being a married working woman at the age of 20 and had no idea what I was doing. So, I try to teach my kids and let them know we are a team who need to work together to get things done. They all have chores which they are responsible for doing. I do have to admit that I feel a pang of guilt at times that I am not pampering my kids like my mom pampered me, but I know in my heart it is really for their own good.
3 Comments:
I'm both but I do lean towards the 'lazy' mom. I can only take things laying around the house for so long! But alas, empty nest time and they, have proven to have a good work ethic. Our youngest just turned 20 and she is going to college and an Associate Manager being trained to be a Manager. I don't know how she does it. Our oldest has fallen off the band wagon :( She did great for 3 years--college, work as a Night Manager--but this 'guy' entered sigh....
Oops I said more than lazy or crazy :)
lol you had me a little worried with this post. I'm more on the "lazy" side!
I get your point, and it's well taken. Kids need to help out around the house. I lean more toward "crazy," than "lazy." This is actually due to, erm, lazy-ness. It's just easier to do it myself and it gets done the way I want it done. But that's not the point. No. They need to learn both the particular chore and a general sense of responsibility. Isn't that part of raising a child?
Great work. Thank you for reminding me. I needed that.
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