For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for October 07, 2015

Well, she’s learning one bit at a time.

Experience is the best teacher. I vividly remember being 7, attempting to warm up some leftover spaghetti in a plastic bowl in the oven set on 350.

Be careful what you ask for.

Lynn’s Notes:

This happened. It’s one of those situations where you don’t want to get angry…after all, when a kid does something she’s asked to do, you want to show encouragement. You hope that by thanking her graciously for her efforts now, you are creating a willing and helpful teenager down the road.

…Heh.

In this case, Elly is the one who made the mistake. She should have explained to Elizabeth that the hanging plants need to be taken down before watering them…

GOOD JOB LIZ

Just saw an article saying to let kids do chores even if the screw them up. So Lynn was ahead of the curve, here.

My hanging baskets have no drain hole. I have to be careful how I water them not to drown them.

The law of unforeseen consequences intervenes.

Plants where the water runs too quickly through them, or run the risk of drowning, I have learned to water by laying ice cubes on the soil. The slow melting works well. I’m no expert though….have killed many an innocent plant, including, (like one reader above) a cactus!

Who lets a small child water hanging plants?

Dad said, add oil to the car, so I put in the whole gallon.Had to drain it out later!Was thirsty, so drank the Holy Water on the nightstand.

Ellie asked for it! This is where the saying….“If you want a job done right, do it yourself.”, comes from.

Good idea to give her the job, next time show her how to do it. I too am terrible with plants and just gave up. From time to time, my 10 year old brings home a plant that she takes great care of for longer than I ever could.

A learning experience for both of them.

Kid did nothing wrong. This is what happens when soil is bone dry. No matter how little water, it’s going to pour straight through.

Even if the hanging pots don’t have drain holes, Elizabeth is 6. She’s not quite dexterous enough to get all the water into the pot. Heck, even at 65 I’m not quite dexterous enough to get all the water into the pot.

If you put plastic plants in the hanging vases, you don’t have to water them, or worry about them dieing

We were a two-person black thumb family. Any plant that came in contact with our home, never lived to tell about it.

Ah, the first day on the new job…

I’ll never forget a conversation I had with an Hispanic friend about chores for kids. I had chores from the time I was about 5. As I grew older I got more “responsibilities.” My friend was from one of the central American countries ( I don’t remember which one) and she said that she and her friends were never given chores when they were younger because they were supposed to be free to enjoy their childhoods. Then, she said at fourteen or so, she and her sister were to do the housecleaning and cooking. I asked how she “learned to do it right” if she hadn’t learned how when she was younger. She said that she and her sisters were supposed to learn from watching their mother. I thought that was a really interesting way of thinking. Never did find out if that was cultural or particular to that family. . .(conversation about 35 years ago)