McAllister: A spoonful of sugar doesn't work anymore
Sometimes I feel like a real-life Mary Poppins.
Not that I’m pulling coat racks out of overnight bags or flying around with an umbrella or dancing with chimney sweeps, although that would be pretty amazing.
Instead, I find I attempt to force feed my children a spoonful of sugar.
Remember back to her wise, wise words. “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. Find the fun and, snap! The job becomes a game! And every task you undertake becomes a piece of cake. A lark! A spree! It’s very clear to see!”
It was at this point in the classic film that the children, who were previously bordering on lazy delinquents, spring into action and snap their fingers and toys magically end up back on shelves and clothes in drawers. While we don’t possess that sort of magic, I still frequently attempt to lure my children into finding the fun in chores.
Laugh attack: She gets swept up in giggles during a vacuum cleaning moment
Even when chores aren’t all that fun
Just recently, our youngest daughter in her freshman wisdom, called me out on it. I was yelling from the garage while she was working hard inside, exercising her thumb muscles by doing thousands of repetitions of tapping on her phone. I wanted her to unload pop cans into our outdoor refrigerator to prepare for a party.
In the best sing-songy voice I called, “I have a fun job for you in the garage! You’ll love it! This party will be great!” I think it sounded like a lot of spoonfuls of sugar, which was my aim because it certainly wasn’t a job I wanted to do, but it could have been a much worse task.
“Mom, you always say it’s a fun job and it never really is. I don’t know why you always try to trick us like that—we’re not little anymore. It doesn’t work.”
(I will skip past the part where there was a bit of screaming and eventually we finished the job together.)
It’s a sad day in parenting when you can’t take loving advantage of your kids by tricking them into thinking that chores and jobs are fun. I had a good run at it, though.
There was a time when I gave awards for the best back rub and their little hands would fight over who got to go first and inevitably, it would always be a tie, with me being the real winner.
Post garage task, I tried one more time while folding laundry. “Who wants to join me in a super fun job? It’s ah-may-zing! All of the shirts and socks are inside out and you get to turn them around and then fold them and then put them away! There might be a prize! Anyone? Anyone??”
(I will skip past the part where I finished the laundry by myself.)
Reach Karrie McAllister at mckarrie@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Making kid chores fun will run its course
