Mother Tongue

By Kristen Taylor

The Mother Tongue is a parenting column that Kristen (Juvie's owner) writes. It was published monthly in the Ventura County Star from 2004-2006, and now appears in the Los Feliz Ledger. Kristen's other publishing credits include the Christian Science Monitor, Because I Said So, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, and elsewhere.

July 28, 2010

Summer Conundrum

The American child-rearing schedule is a little odd. On the one hand, when the school year is in session we make the kids get up at dawn, work at school from 8 – 3, and spend the rest of the day occupied with homework, sports and lessons. It’s a harsh, Puritanical kind of calendar, suggesting that Americans value productivity over leisure, even for our tiniest citizens. When the kids’ schedule is at its worst I feel guilty asking them to do even the tiniest chore because they’re so wracked with other responsibilities.

On the other hand, there’s summer vacation. Just when the kids have the most free time is exactly when every extracurricular activity or class shuts down. “You just try to do something productive during the summer,” we seem to be telling them, “Go on, I dare you!”

Not that I’m against summer leisure time for children. I love that my kids get as much sleep as they need, and that our summer discussions are usually about what they have to stop doing (playing on the computer) instead of the school year’s griping about what they need to get done. However, for kids who are a little too old for summer camp but still too young to get a job, there are a lot of hours in the day when a parent is unavailable to play Cruise Director, and lolling around the house gets dull.

So right about this time of year is when I break out The List. The List is an itemized run down of paid work to be done around the house. It includes everyday kinds of things like brushing the dog and doing laundry. There are also some bigger spring cleaning jobs that never got done while it was still spring, like cleaning out closets and organizing bookshelves.

There’s a lot to be gained from The List. Participation is entirely voluntary, so a little self-start is required if someone wants to earn some cash. The List gives me a ready answer to the plaintive, “I’m bored.” And if the kids never do a single bit of work on The List, it means that they found a lot of other interesting things to do instead. It’s amazing how creative a kid can be when they’re looking for something to do, and the only other alternative is laundry.

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