That Would Be GREAT... if

Yesterday, I posted about us trying to raise independent little girls.  In some ways I would say that we are succeeding.  They are both so excited to try things on their own, and super excited when they are able to.

However, this has also made for some frustrating moments when I have to remind myself of the overall goal.

To raise independent, strong, confident women.

That will be great...

If I can survive it with any of my sanity.

For example.

Jackie LOVES to help do the dishes in the sink.  That would be great... if it didn't result in soapy water dripping down the side of the counter and into a big pile on the floor.

She also wants to take her dishes to the sink after she is finished eating.  And that would be great... if she didn't accidentally drop the bowl with soup broth all over the floor.

Katerina is definitely in the "by myself" stage.  Her favorite thing to do right now (since we are potty-training) is dump her little potty of pee in the toilet herself.  That would be great... if she actually got the pee into the toilet.

They love to help me cook in the kitchen, which would be great... if it didn't quadruple the mess I have to clean up after. **If I can have some success with the above dishwashing this might end up less mess for ME to have to clean up.

Jackie wants to sweep the floor... Awesome.  If that didn't end up with her swinging the broom from side to side and knocking off the bag of chip crumbs to the floor.

Katerina tries to put her coat on by her self.  Upside down and backwards every time.

Jackie wants the independence of NOT having the child lock on the inside of her door.  (Yup.  I lock her in her room at night.  Parent of the year.)  We tried it, and I would continue to allow her that independence if she would stay in bed later than 5:30 AM.  She will find the lock back on her door tonight.  I am sure the fit she is going to throw will be epic.

Remember the goal.  Strong.  Independent. Confident.

I am adding survival to the list.

Independent. Strong. Confident.

Ethan and I are doing our best to raise independent children.  Children who can do things for themselves, by themselves, and occasionally for others, and by "others" I mean that to also include us, their parents.

The ultimate goal of this is long term.  I would rather not have 30-something adult children living in my basement, I want them to be OK living on their own, fending for themselves in our unsafe and unpredictable world.

I know.  I'm a monster.

I saw a meme while scrolling through Facebook one day that said "If your child can run an iPhone, they can run the laundry machine."

Yup.  That about sums up everything right there.  Earlier this week, Jackie (my 3-year-old) took the iPad, found the music app, located the specific Taylor Swift song she wanted to listen to, played it and turned up the volume for the entire house to hear.

She is three.

If she can find "Bad Blood" in a field of other music songs on a device that took me months to figure out.  She can help around the house, and her two-year-old sister isn't far behind.

So their list of "to-do" just got a little longer.

I just have to be able to survive the "teaching them how to do this stuff" part, so that I can get to the "nagging them to death" pre-teen and teen years.  But I will succeed.

Because I am independent, strong, and confident.