[BigV]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

haha...nice one HLJ. Those water bowls get moved all over. Sometimes they get filled up with dirt, and sometimes they get filled up with water from the dogs water bucket (the puple one) and then emptied onto the plants.

Max is big on gardening. Not so great when he goes solo at times, but he's learning, and it's good that he's interested I guess.

It's very good.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...-taking-it-out

I think the disconnect between our aspirations for our children and their actual behavior occurs because of an anomaly in children's development. From the anthropological literature it is abundantly clear that children are at a fever pitch to contribute and get involved in household work during the ages of 2-4. I believe that this motivation, if unrewarded by the assignment of chores, is extinguished. Our children, eventually, stop volunteering, they get a free ride and when, finally, at 8 or later, chores are assigned, the window of opportunity is closed. They've been conditioned to receive care, not give it.

...

The solution may be to take time and find "work"' for 2-4 years olds, recognizing that their "help" actually means more work for the parent. In a study done some years ago, the investigators found that children as young as 18 months "spontaneously and promptly assisted the adults in a majority of the tasks they performed. Furthermore, the children accompanied their assistance by relevant verbalizations and by evidence that they knew the goals of the tasks, even adding appropriate behaviors not modeled by the adults." (16)