Pesach So after a lovely morning at the beach with my kids, because all we had left to clean for was literally the kitchen sink, we came home and of course started yelling at our kids to help us finish cleaning, they still had to tidy their rooms for one final vacuum, uggg, all that relaxation GONE.
Since my kids are 9, 7, and 7, they could certainly clean their rooms by themselves, but as all my clients, people look at the mess and don’t know where to start. Since I was cleaning the kitchen sink, I deputized my husband to help direct them in their room, so I could have them help me in the kitchen after.
My youngest son joined me at the shuk in the morning to help buy the produce, and now it was time to wash it and prep it. So… after I got the kids to use the steam mop on the floor, which they LOVE to do, they came to help me in the kitchen. One is peeling carrots, one is taking the stems off the grapes, and one is taking the stems off the tomatoes… everyone is working together, and it feels nice, like we are all simpatico.
I hope this time will be a happy memory for them, the smell of cooking chicken soup, music, and working together for a common goal: a relaxing fun seder. I fondly remember helping my mom make Pesach when I was growing up, it was a group effort, we all pitched in, this is the spirit of the holiday, working together, but more importantly teaching my kids that we are all part of a unit that works best together so we can all be calm and peaceful, this is real freedom. I am not a slave in the kitchen, and they will have the skills to allow them to be independent.
How do you help your kids be independent?
Photo credit: Evan Saltzman, Hof Ha’Carmel Beach, Haifa