Recently I have been teaching my boy H to do some things around the house. He has always been a helper and I thought he was ready for some of his own ‘family responsibilities’ as I sometimes call them. We all have to work to keep things running, right? He is an eager and quick learner and has the heart of a servant, to be sure.
He sometimes washes the dishes. Yes, you read that right! And he’s only 4 years old. But he loves it. I don’t give him big ones or hard ones. But the usual bowls, plates, cups, silverware… he can do it with no problems. Once, he even asked me if he could please wash the dishes and then told me to go take a rest on the couch. Ha!
He came up with this idea of how he could help me hang up and take down the diapers from the clothesline. He thinks it’s so fun.
He waters the plants on the balcony almost daily. This is his most regular and his biggest job. Such a blessing to have him do this!
And he can run downstairs, grab a stool and open the gate when the doorbell rings. This, too, is such a blessing to me!
Other things we have him do include taking his sister to the bathroom to help her wash her hands after meals and giving himself a bath, start to finish, all by himself (as long as we put the soap on his washcloth)!
I never expected how good it would feel to teach him how to help out around the house or take care of different jobs by himself. And I never expected how much he would love it or how much he is capable of! I can see that it gives him a sense of accomplishment, a sense of being needed, a sense that he is a blessing and a growing level of his own independence. It also gives me so many opportunities to thank him, encourage him and build him up in the little man that he is becoming.
My boy is growing up and it’s a beautiful thing.
*tear*
