You have my attention...yes, you. Who am I talking to? All of the people out that that just don't give a crap. My 8 year old is at the top of the list right now. How do you teach your children to have pride in what they do? As a parent, how do I run quality control when the minions could care less if their output is sub par?
Brush your teeth...done 2 seconds later, funk still on teeth. Try that again. Aww Mom, do I have to? I assume this is a rhetorical question because she already knows the answer is yes. Time to get up and get dressed...child still in bed 10 minutes later. Oh, you meant now? No, next week dear....
I know that many of the challenges I face on a daily basis are all just part of raising a child, but when it comes to things that really matter (like school work), how do you get your kids to care about the quality of work they turn in?
Homework is the worst...
Me: Good job dear, but you didn't spell walk correctly, why don't you erase that and put the k after the l instead of the other way around.
Child...scratches the k over the l and the l over the k
Me: Dear, you wrote that with a pencil, which I am noticing still has a pristine eraser. Why don't you erase the word and write it correctly. That way your teacher knows what you are really trying to say.
Child: Aww Mom, do I have to? (complete with eye roll)
Me: Yes
Child...partially erases word but not enough to really remove the word and writes over the top making the entire word now illegible
Me: So, you feel like that was the right thing do to?
Child: Whaaat?
Me: You don't care if your teacher can't read your writing? I know what the word was and I still can't read it.
Child: She won't care, it will be fine.
Me: Aaaagggghhhh!!!
It is the same thing time after time and I notice it wherever I go. People are lazy and flat out don't care if they are doing their best work or not. As a society we have gotten so used to trying to make everyone feel good about themselves so we don't criticize, correct or complain.
How do we stop the cycle? How do you create that sense of self worth in your child that causes them to take pride in what they do? How do you develop that sense of competition to be the best at something?
