Yesterday, Alice and I were engaging in a typical Saturday morning activity--cleaning house. I pointed out some of Ben's belongings on the floor and Abbie's on the table and asked them to pick them up and put them away. As I then perused the living room, I noticed a number of Christopher's toys scattered around in his corner of the room. Typically, either Alice or I will pick Christopher's toys up. As I moved towards Christopher's treasures, a thought suddenly came into my mind: "Christopher can pick up his messes too." I turned to Christopher and asked him to come pick up his toys. After repeating myself a couple times, he crawled over to where I was standing with a large grin on his face. I asked him to put his car on the shelf; Christopher grabbed it, engaged the siren a few times, and put the toy on the shelf. When he completed the task, he looked up at me with an even bigger smile. He picked up a ball, tambourine, and a tractor with some additional encouragement.
I have endeavored to include Christopher in all of our family fun activities, but up to this point, he has had a free-ride when it comes to working around the house. Like other fun activities, I think he enjoyed being included in household chores too. Of course it would have been exponentially quicker to have simply picked up the toys myself, but whether play or work, observing Christopher expand his scope of activity brings a lot of joy to me and our family.
I have endeavored to include Christopher in all of our family fun activities, but up to this point, he has had a free-ride when it comes to working around the house. Like other fun activities, I think he enjoyed being included in household chores too. Of course it would have been exponentially quicker to have simply picked up the toys myself, but whether play or work, observing Christopher expand his scope of activity brings a lot of joy to me and our family.