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It's "got me absolutely stumped" because we have a small kitchen and a small sink. There's no room. We could put them on the floor, but we have dogs. Conceivably we could do something like put all the dishes on a shelf in the living room and come and get them one by one to clean them. Maybe you think that would teach my daughter something, but other than 'my parents are doing something silly when we could just use the dishwasher,' I don't know what it would be.
Could it be that you don't know my situation because you've never been to my home?
Moving them onto another surface also means an additional surface to clean. Floors don't need anything more than regular vacuuming or a quick mop most of the time. If you get grease there, that's so much more work to clean up.
I have a small kitchen and a small sink. I somehow still understand the concept of piling them on some other surface for a moment so I can wash other dishes in the sink. I'm genuinely amazed by how a supposedly functioning adult seems to genuinely think their actual ability to wash the dishes hinges on whether their kid puts them away or not. Imagine if the kid didn't do that, would you really, actually, just not be able to in any way wash the dishes? I just can't believe that.
You're telling your kid to put the dishes away because it makes things easier and convenient. It's not an actual requirement for your ability to wash dishes, but I wouldn't bother explaining that to a kid either. I'd just say put the dishes away so we can wash them. It's not the whole truth but it's a kid so I wouldn't care either. This is unless you genuinely think your ability to wash the dishes hinges on your kid putting them away. In which case, wow.
Where, specifically, would this other surface be since you know my kitchen so well?
I can't believe an adult just can't wrap their head around this, bless your heart.
Maybe this will help: You tell your kid to put the dishes away, claiming so you can wash the dishes. But it's not true in that you could wash the dishes without them having been put away. It just wouldn't be as convenient. You could pile the dishes somewhere else, hell outside on the ground (lol) to make room in the sink and whatever while you clean other dishes. But it'd be inconvenient and stupid. You could wash the dishes on the kitchen table, but that'd also be inconvenient and stupid. You could do a lot of things but they wouldn't be as convenient (and could be really stupid). So it's not really that the dishes need to be put away so you can wash your dishes, it's just it is much more convenient to do so. So what you are saying to the kid isn't true in that sense.
Does that finally explain it?
So what you're saying is, I should tell my daughter, "if you don't put the dishes away, I will be forced to take them all outside and bring them in one by one and wash them." Because that's a sane thing to tell a child, rather than explain to them the concept of keeping things clean to keep the roaches away.
Got it.
Is that what you tell your kids?
I didn't say at all what you should say, I was just noting that what you're saying isn't exactly the truth. It wasn't a value judgement or even advice.
"if you don't put the dishes away, I will be forced to take them all outside and bring them in one by one and wash them."
If you want help workshopping this you could say that it's just more convenient to put them away. That'd be true without being very convoluted, if being 100% honest was the goal. Whether it should be or not, imo not.
Most children, I would wager, are not so stupid that when you say something like I said, they will think, "well he must mean that there is literally no other possible option and therefore he is being 100% honest with me." I know my daughter isn't. She understands nuance and she understands that means that in our house, we clean dishes with the dishwasher.
Again, what do you tell your kids? I'm starting to suspect you don't have any, which is what prompted this conversation.
If they understand that then it seems like you could say that it's just more convenient and it'd be the same, but also 100% truthful. Assuming that's the goal.
Again, what do you tell your kids?
That it's more convenient
Yes, again, my child is smart enough to understand nuance. She doesn't have to have everything put to her 100% literally. I'm not sure why your children do.
Also, I hope you're not the one who is responsible for telling your children the difference between things like "honest" and "100% literally true" or they are fucked.
Yes, again, my child is smart enough to understand nuance. She doesn't have to have everything put to her 100% literally. I'm not sure why your children do.
Sounds like your daughter might have you beat there since I didn't say she doesn't, I didn't say she does, I didn't say they do.
Also, I hope you're not the one who is responsible for telling your children the difference between things like "honest" and "100% literally true" or they are fucked.
That's very sweet of you.
U forgot small brain.
Oooh snap