Chad Verrall

Fun parenting day! After cleaning all morning, I found crumbs and sticky mess all over the kitchen. I took a deep breath and called my kid in to talk.

I explained that all my life, I didn't have any autonomy; nothing I bought was mine, and I was so afraid that I wouldn't be able to have a nice home for him if my husband left us.

But my husband did leave us, and I managed to make this nice home, with nice furniture and plants, where we made choices together, and ate well. I explained that cleaning it gave me pride and peace of mind, and that I did it out of love, a celebration of my hard work & success.

After this stupid long spiel, I asked if the kid had anything to say. And here's the punch line: "I don't want to have kids. I'm afraid I'll end up like you."

DOH. Lead by example like you’re doing. They’ll realize someday how great they had it. I mean, I HOPE they realize it someday. If not I may have made two grave errors.

You're thinking of this all wrong. The revenge comes not from the damn kid feeling bad about it one day, but by how severe the cleaning chores will soon become. Short term retribution is always best.

Oh, no, my mind definitely went to: "ha ha ha good one kid! But yeah, you're grounded 'till the kitchen and now the bathroom are clean" [Points to cleaning supplies] but I figured I'd aim for the kindness reply first lol

Last week, the dishes didn't get done, so SOMEone didn't get Sidecar donuts. And that someone wasn't me.