Each night I run through a list of questions for my older children.
Have you showered?
Brushed your teeth yet?
Changed your underwear AND socks?
Normally my nose catches the stench of their forgetfulness before my overloaded mom brain actually remembers. Basic cleanliness for tweens is pretty much like Tom Cruise working to accomplish the task given on one of those self destructing memos.
Mission:Impossible.
I even have it written on their chore chart.
TAKE A SHOWER EVERY DAY!
You’d think after verbal and written reminders my kids would catch on to the daily hygiene necessities and just comply. Nope. That hasn’t happened yet, not on the regular at least. So I keep saying it, every single day because their minds aren’t yet fully equipped to understand the action of NOT taking a shower can produce smelly consequences.
Hmmmmm….
What else do we expect our children to do without reminding them simply because they are now older?
Be kind.
Respect others.
Mind your manners.
The basic foundational rules of life. The things we reiterated over and over when they were playing on the playground or sharing toys with their siblings. The things we beamed over when their preschool teacher checked it off on their daily behavior chart. We used to hold them in such high regard. When did it become better for a 4 year to be well mannered and treat others kindly, than it is for a 12 year old?
Did we just think it would stick?? Like riding a bike? You know, like “Oh he learned how to be nice in kindergarten so that’s good for the next 10 years.”
They are constantly changing. Their vocabulary is growing, their bodies are different. We are allowing them to view and listen to more mature things and their minds just can’t keep up. They are run by their mood of the minute and have emotions and aggression they don’t know how to handle. Raising a budding teenager is much like raising a toddler.
They still need us. They’re kids, just bigger ones whose actions have much higher consequences often time they can’t get see.
Be kind.
Respect others.
Mind your manners.
because the world could use a lot less of the stinky consequences.
