Does this kind of thing happen to anyone else?
Ben grabs the timer off the counter. He’s not supposed to play with it; but I’m distracted and let it slide for a minute while I finish measuring out the flour and other dry ingredients for my bread. After all, it isn’t a matter of his safety and I can see that he’s not using it to bash things or hit people.
In the meantime Sophie grabs it from him. I find myself refereeing the screaming match and demanding that they take turns with it, forgetting for the moment that it’s not something either of them is supposed to be playing with.
I am very bad at trying to prioritize which lesson to teach: that “We don’t play with the timer” or that “We need to ask politely and not snatch from each other and take turns.” In the grand scheme of things the second lesson seems much more important. But now I’m being inconsistent about the timer and in the grand scheme of things perhaps consistency in discipline is more important than a particular instance of a lesson about sharing? These are the moments I find most stressful about parenting: having to make split second decisions and then second guessing myself
Love can be pretty ridiculous- but isn’t it nice?
Melanie,
This comment has absolutely nothing to do with this particular post. I’m just to lazy to go back and find the post it does belong to.
Thanks for the mention of the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. My 5 year old son and I made it for the first time on Thursday [ice day, no school] and it was fantastic. I made the Batard instead of the Boule and then used it in some homemade French Onion soup. Mmmm! It was delicious. I got the book from the library and now I have to buy my own copy. Hopefully I’ll be getting some gift cards for Christmas.
I love this one, Melanie.
Anne,
So glad you’ve liked it. Nothing beats fresh bread.