The minis had their first dog sitting adventure this past weekend. I was beyond thrilled for them. No one seems to think kids are capable of anything these days and unfortunately, I think it hurts kids curiosity about the world. I remember well being the official pet sitter of our neighborhood. I took care of our neighbor's dog(s) when they were out of town by myself starting when I was 8 years old. Now it's unheard of for an 8 year old to do anything by him/herself.
Lately I've been seeing so many conversations about the appropriate ages to start letting your kids do certain things. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to give them a bit of responsibility but with me there to help out and make sure they did their "job."
Turns out the dog was terrified of the boys (probably their stomping feet) and me, but loved the littlest mini.
Hard at work, yelling at the dog "go poop! Go! Go now!" That did not help things. I had to tell them to wait patiently and nicely for the dog to go to the bathroom. I asked them if they would like someone yelling at them while they went to the bathroom and they responded "I don't know. We can try it when we get home." Not exactly the reaction I was going for.
The minis had such a great time dog sitting that they asked if we could just stop by the next day (when we weren't needed) and let the dog out "while Meredith is sleeping." We then had a conversation about entering people's homes uninvited. Oh the things I never thought I'd have to have a conversation about!
Now that the weekend is over, they're contemplating what to do with their hard earned cash. "Do we split it up and get something smaller? Or we could keep the money together and get one big thing?" "But then we might fight over it if it's just one thing and then mom wouldn't be happy."
Decisions, such level headed decisions to be made.