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I remember begging my mom to let me do dishes when I was 4 years old. She spent so much time over the sink that I just assumed that it must be fun. I may have b

I remember begging my mom to let me do dishes when I was 4 years old. She spent so much time over the sink that I just assumed that it must be fun. I may have been proven wrong, but it certainly got me in the habit of keeping my sink empty.

oh_sigh 12y ago
Do you really have any insight into what you were thinking when you were 4 years old? I assume you have no idea if you really thought it was "fun", or if it was just something that people did, and therefore you should mimic it.
- Spooky23 12y ago
  My son is 3, and is at almost all times making the case that he is a "big boy"... That's a big factor. Fun is always a factor, because kids love to hang out with the parents. Besides that, he just wants to help in any way he can. The other day he was piling laundry into a big dump truck, and rigged it to tow another vehicle to transport laundry to the room where my wife was folding.
- AnkhMorporkian 12y ago
  I have vague memories of the event, and my mother filled me in on the rest when I was about 10. Apparently I gave her an explanation as to why I wanted to do the dishes.
- DanBC 12y ago
  For what it's worth my child loves washing dishes. There are some obvious safety measures -- the water is much cooler than I'd normally use; I make sure there are no knives in there; I take all the glasses out (he's young and a bit clumsy). He also enjoys hoovering, and folding clothes.
wwweston 12y ago
Nowadays I actually think dishes are ... maybe not fun, but pleasant. It's a straightforward goal-oriented task that doesn't require much in the way of decision making or mental effort, there's often warm water involved, it's kindof calming, and you get a good feeling from having rolled back entropy, restored a certain amount of order, and replenished a useful resource (clean dishes). It's nice to use my brain more building software too, but sometimes it's nice to have a break.

oh_sigh 12y ago

Do you really have any insight into what you were thinking when you were 4 years old? I assume you have no idea if you really thought it was "fun", or if it was just something that people did, and therefore you should mimic it.

Spooky23 12y ago
My son is 3, and is at almost all times making the case that he is a "big boy"... That's a big factor. Fun is always a factor, because kids love to hang out with the parents. Besides that, he just wants to help in any way he can. The other day he was piling laundry into a big dump truck, and rigged it to tow another vehicle to transport laundry to the room where my wife was folding.
AnkhMorporkian 12y ago
I have vague memories of the event, and my mother filled me in on the rest when I was about 10. Apparently I gave her an explanation as to why I wanted to do the dishes.
DanBC 12y ago
For what it's worth my child loves washing dishes. There are some obvious safety measures -- the water is much cooler than I'd normally use; I make sure there are no knives in there; I take all the glasses out (he's young and a bit clumsy). He also enjoys hoovering, and folding clothes.

wwweston 12y ago

Nowadays I actually think dishes are ... maybe not fun, but pleasant. It's a straightforward goal-oriented task that doesn't require much in the way of decision making or mental effort, there's often warm water involved, it's kindof calming, and you get a good feeling from having rolled back entropy, restored a certain amount of order, and replenished a useful resource (clean dishes). It's nice to use my brain more building software too, but sometimes it's nice to have a break.