argh. I'm so fed up with this -- am I just expecting too much? - Page 2

[nomadmom]

You could get some wooden tongs for retrieving stuck bagels.

Practice bagel making w/ ds until you feel he can do it safely alone. The two of you could make a step-by-step chart and keep it near the toaster.

Let your child know it's O.K. to wake you if something goes wrong!

[lilyka]

My 3 and 6 year old have been making thier own toast for a few months now. Not a problem. If you are worried find a nice one with built in satrey features (someone mentioned somehting earlier in the thread) and get some of those bamboo tongs from the pampered chef. they will be so fun to use and become a habit so quickly that it might not even occur to him to reach in with his fingers. Also lookj for one that is made for toasting bagles.

[nomadmom]

Oh, please don't leave safety to chance! *Tell* your children about burns/electric shocks and that if they stick their fingers or anything metal into a toaster it likely will hurt a lot! I do think that even very young kids can handle an amazing amount of responsibility if we trust them, but we also have to give them all available info. as well.

[guest^]

Nah-I don't think you are expecting too much....

I think it is pretty reasonable to expect ds to not wake you and little ds up when still sleeping in the am....

I think it is okay for the natural consequence to be that you aren't go on special afternoon outings. I have done that. It did work as far as dd getting the message that I*really* need that extra sleep as long as ds was going to sleep in...

*BUT*....I struggle with whether or not it is worth it, as I wonder if it has contributed to dd resenting ds.....yk....the train of thought that she could be having...."we could go somewhere if it weren't for * HIM* keeping mommy up all night"....so, I usually reserve this kind of request when I'm going through a *period* of no sleeping as opposed to a couple of nights of no sleep. Does that make sense? I have demanded that if she must wake me, she do it quietly so as not to wake ds. She knows to wake me screaming if there is an emergency......

DD does toast things on her own....we did this with lots of practice during my awake hours.....


Can I just say that Granolamom......your idea of the breakfast "box" rocks!!!!!!!

And Sofiamomma- I love your tips on snacks and craft organizing!!!!!





mp