Good parenting is all about balance. I have been told that I “work” my children too hard (I do admit that my girls have been doing laundry since kindergarten). All 6 of our kids do chores around the house and outside with the yard and animals. I think it’s important for all children to contribute to work around their home in order to teach appreciation and self-discipline while preventing laziness or entitlement.
If they don’t learn to work for and appreciate what they have now, they will certainly be in for a rude awakening in the future when they don’t have Mom and Dad around to do all the cooking and cleaning and home maintenance.
Conversely, it is also important for them to feel special and valued. Though they do have to “earn their keep” to a certain degree, they certainly do not have to earn affection or attention. One easy way to convey this to little hearts is by serving them.
This morning, I simply lit a few candles, used cloth napkins instead of paper, and turned on some classical piano music. It was just pancakes. But these three little princesses saw that they were worth the extra effort. They didn’t have to earn it…it’s just because they’re loved.
Cinderella was always my favorite princess, because she was humble and hard-working. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t qualified to be royalty. It actually was the very thing that qualified her. Her beauty was magnified by her character.
I like to think I’m raising little Cinderellas who, though they know quite well how to work a mop and a bucket, also know they are loved, cherished, and worthy of special treatment. Because as daughters of the King of all kings, they are most definitely royal. ?
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