Men At Work

During the school holidays, with too much free time at hand, I thought teaching the boys to do some simple housework would make some fun for all of them. Despite their short attention span, they were fast learners. In just a couple of days, they were already doing excellently in clearing and wiping the table, putting dishes in the dishwasher, clearing the dishwasher, operating the washing machine and vacuuming the floor.

Bart still can't hold back his mischief when he is at work with his vacuum cleaner. Regardless, he gets his work done and that's most important.

Ludwig doing the laundry. He now knows how some clothes smell when they are soaked in perspiration.

Carefully pouring the washing powder in the compartment before pushing the "Start" button. Look how focussed and serious he is!

Enzian wiping the place mats, concentrating hard on getting the food residue out from the embossed lines.

On a separate day, Enzian washes the toilet bowl. Notice how dirty his pants are? That is a result of sliding on his bottoms in the garden prior to this work.

After brushing the bowl and wiping the seats, he mops the floor the traditional way.

Bart washing the shower, scrubbing off the sliminess with a bathroom cleaner and a sponge.

Of late, we also don't see too many things lying around everywhere in the house anymore. There was a time when sweet wrappers, ice cream sticks, soiled laundry, used towels, straws, empty packet drinks, toys, stationeries, books, cut papers, pillows, coins and food pieces were found in every corner of the house. Their bedroom being the "flagship store" for all these items.

In that dreadful period, each and every time before I entered their room, I had to take deep breaths and remind myself repeatedly not to feel appalled by the amount of trash and mess they had managed to churn out. And promised myself not to start screaming at them for the mess, but to tell them to start picking up their trash, tidying up their room in a patiently manner. I must be very honest. I always broke my promise. Always. Never had I once been able to compose myself when it came to this. Never. To this day, I still question myself if this was the right approach, other than recognizing that it is obviously my approach.

I didn't know what side effects or negative consequences I might face in the long-run for always raising my voice at them then, however it does seem that I am seeing some results already. READ THIS: Positive results.

Probably they are just becoming more sensible. The boys are making an extra effort to keep things in order. They maintain their room neat and tidy most of the time. They remind each other of what they must do to avoid my negative reinforcement.

We have come a long way. A tough and long way. Dating as far back as last December, when we became independent of stay-in domestic helpers. Those times were crazy, I will never forget the umpteen times that I had gone berserk. The scoldings and shoutings had the boys crying, and I sobbing. But the chores must still be done. There were too many trials and errors. Worthy trials and errors though. Each of us learnt from our mistakes. From looking at me with a blank face over a spilled glass of milk to immediately running to fetch a piece of damp and dry cloth to wipe off the spillage. From standing like a piece of wood to quickly sprinting into action for shattered glasses, attending to small wounds and injuries, removing stains from clothes, keeping their clothes in their cupboards...

Is this what they call, the rewards of parenting? The sweet contentment that they are capable of generating in Christophe and I is like farmers harvesting their fruits of labour.

The three older boys have definitely come of age, and Johann chasing behind. It is a big leap for us as a family. A giant milestone. I think we can all give ourselves a small pat on our shoulders.

The road is long, we will keep walking. Hand in hand.