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Child Labor

Some friends of ours came over to play yesterday. They have 4 kids, from almost 5 years old to 13 years old. One of the things the Mom does when she comes over is ask, "what can we help you get done?" She wants to help accomplish something that I've been dreading doing, since it is much more fun to work on something with another person, rather than trying to get it done alone.

Well, I set the older 2 girls to alphabetizing our library, not a small task since Amanda and Luke have determined that it is their duty to take all the books off of the shelves, at least the ones they can reach. They got about half way done before they went back to playing... I really appreciated it, and I especially appreciated that they could do the work without adult involvement. What an idea!

We worked on cleaning out the garage, which had been needed for a long time. We needed to get the styrofoam bits off the floor, and she suggested the shop vac. I was willing to do it, but she called her 4 year old over. He had a wonderful time sticking small pieces into the nozzle and watching them disappear. Within a few minutes Amanda and Luke were over there watching, giggling as the pieces were sucked up, laughing when the vacuum got their shirts or hands or stomachs... They had a wonderful time and did a necessary job.

It's clear that I need more imagination in getting my kids to do work around the house. And I need to start them now, so that when they get older they will be able to complete tasks without my intervention. And so that we can have fun working together.

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