What are you capable of?

This past weekend we went about our daily chores as we usually do.  The usual cleaning, organizing, and changing of the sheets. Normally my husband and I strip all the beds and my 7-year-old son helps take off all his sheets and blankets and loads things in the machine for washing.  Usually I or my husband will go back around and dress the beds with a new set of sheets and blankets. On this particular day we had a lot going on and by Sunday afternoon my son’s bed didn’t have his new sheets and comforter on it yet.

I was feeling frazzled with loads of cleaning and laundry to do.  I pulled out my son’s clean sheets and blankets and along with all his clean clothes asked that he put them away and I inquired if he could figure out how to make his bed from scratch.  I thought for sure he would fight me on it and say he couldn’t do it so that I could do it for him. I was fully prepared for the backlash since I had just given him mounds of clothes to put away (and he really doesn’t like putting away his clothes, go figure).  To my surprise he smiled and asked me which sheet went on first and then went off to his room for what felt like 20 to 30 minutes and then he came back and triumphantly said he figured it out. He asked for me and my husband to come check out his work and I nearly cried tears of joy.  My sweet boy had made his bed and he did a great job, probably neater than I would have done in my current busy state.

I don’t know why I never asked my son to do this before.  I’m not sure if it’s because I didn’t think he could do it on his own yet, or because I thought I could do it better or faster, or if I was just too lazy or tired to delegate this task to him.  But on this particular day I was just so relieved and happy that I didn’t have to do this task and that my son had done it for himself and was really proud of himself at that.

I am sure this is just one small example of a way that I underestimate my kids.  It’s easy for me to jump in and do things for them if I am afraid they will protest, if I think I can handle it faster or better, or if I think they are too young or too unskilled to do something.  It doesn’t hurt to let them try now does it?