It?s 4:50 p.m., a long day home with the kids is coming to an end, and your house looks bombed.
The dishes from breakfast and lunch are still in the sink, there?s wet laundry in the wash (on its third cycle, because you keep forgetting about it), you?re still in the clothes you slept in and your lofty plans to take the kids to the art gallery turned into a measly walk for coffee.
So, you start tidying. You throw plates in the dishwasher, you vacuum the living room rug, you do a smell test on the wet clothes and throw them in the dryer. You need to feel like you?ve been productive today. Like you were busy.
The truth is: You were busy. And also: ?busy? is relative.
There?s a perception that parents who are home with kids during the day have it easy (they don?t), and therefore should be productive. That means finishing chores, taking the kids to toddler time, doing enriching sensory games at the kitchen table, and getting dinner made. And sure, there are days when that happens: Miraculous days when the stars align. But more often than not, days are filled with meltdowns, spills, injuries and demands for snacks. You can load the dishwasher, but your toddler will empty the Tupperware drawer behind your back. You can have a shower, but your preschooler will draw on your walls with lipstick. This is programmed into their DNA. It?s basically science.
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