So Fletcher, 4, has taken to ordering me around a bit and I'm not liking it. Really, it started last year when I was doing laundry in the basement and he was hanging out on the steps with the some Hotwheels and surveying the scene. Gazing at my husband's multiple-project-induced mess, he said, "Mommy, why don't you clean this up?" Huh? "Well, that's daddy's mess," I responded. "Yeah, but you should clean it up," he said. I asked him why I should clean it up when DADDY made the mess and he said, "Because that's your job, you clean things up."
I explained at the time that people are responsible for their own messes and that daddy would have to clean up after himself when he was done with his 'projects.' I'm not sure if it sunk in or not as he took off up the steps to look for more Hotwheels to roll down the stairs.
Fletcher has always been more inclined to ask for feminine help than masculine. And it's really no surprise. Though Matt is a hands-on-dad, he is more about extreme fun tickle fighting, building insanely labor intensive Lego structures, Hotwheel races that last for three hours, trips to McDonalds and Home Depot and Auto Zone, etc., than doing the laundry or cooking dinner. Not that he doesn't do this stuff, too, but he's mainly the entertainment and I'm more like, well, mom. A woman (an awesome one!) takes care of him at daycare, his big sister is like another (bossy) mom, and gramma is the go-to lady for snacks, treats and late-night story sessions. So maybe it's just that he relies on women for nourishment, clean clothing and gentle loving. Or maybe he thinks we all live to serve him.
Last night he told me, "Mom, go make me a sandwich." I told him it would be nice if he asked me politely. He replied, "Mom, it's your job to make me a sandwich and my job to wait for it." Geez, have I done this to myself? I took him to the kitchen and had him make it himself, which really honked him off. Of course, Matt thought it was hilarious. Well he'll just be laughing his butt off when he gets to cook supper for himself tonight, right :) I think I'll send Fletcher to 'help' him out.
But honestly, it's not just those couple of incidents. It's every day stuff, like cleaning his room, laying out his clothes for the next day, etc., etc. Maybe I over-baby him. Maybe I'm the one turning him into a demanding little Nazi. Maybe he's, like, FOUR and is reliant on his mom for most stuff? What do you guys think?
I explained at the time that people are responsible for their own messes and that daddy would have to clean up after himself when he was done with his 'projects.' I'm not sure if it sunk in or not as he took off up the steps to look for more Hotwheels to roll down the stairs.
Fletcher has always been more inclined to ask for feminine help than masculine. And it's really no surprise. Though Matt is a hands-on-dad, he is more about extreme fun tickle fighting, building insanely labor intensive Lego structures, Hotwheel races that last for three hours, trips to McDonalds and Home Depot and Auto Zone, etc., than doing the laundry or cooking dinner. Not that he doesn't do this stuff, too, but he's mainly the entertainment and I'm more like, well, mom. A woman (an awesome one!) takes care of him at daycare, his big sister is like another (bossy) mom, and gramma is the go-to lady for snacks, treats and late-night story sessions. So maybe it's just that he relies on women for nourishment, clean clothing and gentle loving. Or maybe he thinks we all live to serve him.
Last night he told me, "Mom, go make me a sandwich." I told him it would be nice if he asked me politely. He replied, "Mom, it's your job to make me a sandwich and my job to wait for it." Geez, have I done this to myself? I took him to the kitchen and had him make it himself, which really honked him off. Of course, Matt thought it was hilarious. Well he'll just be laughing his butt off when he gets to cook supper for himself tonight, right :) I think I'll send Fletcher to 'help' him out.
But honestly, it's not just those couple of incidents. It's every day stuff, like cleaning his room, laying out his clothes for the next day, etc., etc. Maybe I over-baby him. Maybe I'm the one turning him into a demanding little Nazi. Maybe he's, like, FOUR and is reliant on his mom for most stuff? What do you guys think?
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