I know my little guy is only 4 (sometimes hard to believe) but I also know that he is capable of doing so much. This includes clearing his plate from the table, sweeping up his messes or washing up spills etc. Of course he was capable of all this before 2, so this is nothing new. In most cases, he does these things without question. But there are days, where he has a different agenda.
Being that this is a mostly non-discipline household and more of a "guide him to make the right decisions" house, I won't punish him for not doing these things. I will however, guide him to making a different choice.... *smile*
So last night when he wouldn't clear his plate and cup from the table, the conversation went like this:
"Did you forget something?"
<No, I'm too busy for that>
"Well, until you choose to put your stuff in the sink and garbage, your making the decision not to do anything else tonight"
<Sorry Mom, I don't have time for this, you do it>
"Actually, you have more time then you think, because until you do those things, your choosing not to do anything else"
<pout pout, fit fit, cry whine.... > ---- Ignore, no eye contact----- <Mom I'm sad because you won't let me do what I want>
"You can do anything you want, after you clear the table"
<OH OK, I have a great idea... I'll put this in the garbage and this in the sink, then I'll have plenty of time to play that game>
"Yes, that is a Wonderful idea"
*smile*
So today he was eating a blueberry bar at the kitchen table and when he finished, his chair was full of crumbs....
We went through the same thing mentioned above and with less pouting, he grabbed his dust pan, swept up his whole mess... and dumped the crumbs in the trash!
Gotta love it, when he makes the right choices! *smile*