Tonight I was the very mean mom who wouldn’t help her daughter. Tonight I let my little girl struggle and get a little frustrated, and I refused to help her or to do for her the task she set out to do. And we both lived through it. You see, she decided she wanted to change out her shoelaces for these funky Atlanta Hawks laces she got when we visited the Ronald McDonald House a few weeks back. She pulled out a pair of sneakers, plopped herself down on the den rug, and sat there, staring at her shoes. She looked up at me for …approval? Guidance? Or both. I told her this was a task she needed to try to do on her own. I told her upfront I would NOT put those laces in myself, that -at 8 years old- she could do it. I further told her she may need to keep trying until she figured it out. She looked at me like a helpless puppy, but I stayed over on the couch, folding clothes, and simply offering a watchful eye, and an ear for conversation. She pulled the laces out of one sh...
Turning Frugality in to an Art Form, One Coupon at a Time!