Choices

We've decided we need to give Thing 1 more choices. It's one of a few new parenting tricks we've got up our sleeves for the new year.

Thing 1 had a great morning and was on her way to being given a "pass" for nap time, but she started to get fussy. Daddy decided to give her a choice, because he knew what she'd say. "You have a choice. You can either take a nap or you can clean the bathroom."

Who'd have thought she'd want to clean the bathroom? He explained that it meant scrubbing the toilet and the tub, mopping the floor, sorting the laundry...and she jumped out of her chair and went to sort laundry! She's five, though, and she needs help. I didn't make the deal, so I decided it wasn't my job to help. So, Daady and Thing 1 spent a couple hours this afternoon scrubbing the bathroom, top to bottom. They did GREAT! And SHE was in a great mood straight through to bed time.

So, we learned something that we really already knew tody. If you're going to offer choices, make sure you can live with them. And be willing to help with the carry through! (That's probably not just true when dealing with 5 year olds, either!)