It is so important to teach your son about home repairs. Yes, girls can definitely benefit from this too! At our house, we just happen to only have boys, so I tend to focus on raising boys.

This is a guest post that I think brings an awesome point: training up your sons on how to work with their hands. I want to make sure we use these tips at our house more too, and I hope you find this as helpful as I did.

Teaching your sons how to fix their broken stuff will help your finances and teach the boys valuable skills that will be useful later in life.

Who doesn’t respect a handy man (or woman) who is capable of doing his own home repairs?

One thing every parent would agree with is that raising kids can be challenging.  It can be tougher if your children are all boys.

There is a limitation to applying the parenting methods we learned from our parents years ago. Things have changed. 

The perception of manhood some years back includes working hard and respecting and protecting the family at any cost. Men who watch their fathers act this way grew up with the same characteristics.

Over time, as innovation presents new job opportunities, there is almost no need to showcase fitness. Companies now operate hybrid workplaces; hence no need to rush to work. With a smartphone, you can order virtually anything and have it delivered to your doorstep, including booking a repairman.

Nevertheless, your children need to understand certain Do It Yourself (DIY) repairs around the home.

Think they do not need it? Well, what happens if the technician fails to show up? Would you encourage them to call a technician to change a bulb that can be replaced within a few minutes?

Giving them an all-around education, both book knowledge and practical experiences, is essential.

For instance, take them along or involve them when purchasing Shower Door Hardware. Let them know how to choose the right hardware for a shower door.

How to inspire your boys to be kid-fixers

Repairs can be a boring task for someone with no interest; below are ways to make it fun:

Engage and educate

Kids are more intelligent and braver than you think. When supervised, they can safely handle most repair tools, including sharp ones.

Invite your son whenever you are fixing anything. Educate them on what you are fixing and why you perform certain actions.

Explain why you handle the fixing yourself instead of hiring a technician.

Explore

Take them along on your next car routine maintenance trip. You may also visit a repair shop or repair café in the neighborhood to show them the beauty of machines.

Let them see first-hand that the appliances they use at home are not powered by magic but made up of different parts designed to sync.

Supervise

Kids need supervision when working with tools. Teach them about safety features, correct their mistakes, and show them better ways to do it. Only allow them to repair plugged or powered appliances with supervision, except those that use batteries.

5 easy steps to teach your son about home repairs

You do not have to be handy yourself before teaching your kids how to do minor repairs around the house. There are lots of videos online to watch.

It would be fun to watch it along with your sons while you try out the recommended steps. However, here are five easy steps you can use to teach your kids about home repairs;

Introduce them to the tools

Familiarize them with the required tools for the repair you are willing to train them. If you are unfamiliar with the tools and their functions, watch videos to learn what they are used for, and then pass the knowledge on to your kids.

Teach them safety

Once they are familiar with the tools and their uses, the next thing to do is train them on safety. Do this irrespective of your boy’s age.

Also, teach with examples. For instance, narrate how you got injured while repairing something.

Make it fun instead of being similar to their typical school class.

Create a workshop

Purchase a child-size toolset and set up a workshop if you do not have one already in your garage.

Make them write out the names of the tools and have them added to the toolbox. This will help to memorize the names of the tools.

Buying them tools and creating a garage will give them a sense of ownership and could pique their interest in the lesson.

Allow them to practice with the tools

Assign them tasks that will require the use of one of the tools. Instead of loosening a screw yourself, ask them to do it.

Finding the right tool for the task will help them become more familiar with the tools.

Design a project

The project should be age-appropriate. You can start by loosening the screws of the drawer and instructing them to screw it back.

Painting is another project you can make them execute but ensure all necessary areas, such as floors and furniture, are well covered using drop cloths.

Home maintenance and repair skills to teach your children

Plumbing

You can teach kids how to fix a blocked toilet or sink. Direct them to fix a leaking tap and educate them on the importance of conserving water. Let them know about the water bill.

Electrical fittings

There could be a time you may not be around to change a faulty bulb or fix a socket that does not work. Teach them how to do this safely. Show them the circuit breaker box and how to operate it.

Let them know it is safer to switch off the power before performing any electrical repair.

Woodwork

Woodwork encourages creativity. Let them build anything of their choice or something they will find amusing. This may be a birdhouse or a doll house for their sister.

Likewise, you can show your kids how to fix home furniture with minor issues, like removing stains and discoloration.

Painting

Painting is a fun activity that your kids will surely like. Give them the brush and watch them unleash their creativity.

Auto mechanic

Train your son on basic car repairs, such as changing a flat tire and car oil.

Show them the normal car maintenance routine and how to interpret warning signs such as dashboard indicators.

Repairing fences and patching drywall

Your boys might not be strong enough at the moment to help you with repairing the fences. But watching you do it will undoubtedly help them later.

Cleaning

Reinforce in your kids the importance of cleaning. Establish a routine. You may mandate all used dishes are washed after dinner, before they go to bed. They should be able to vacuum and dust furniture.

At an appropriate age, make them take out the trash and wash the trash can when needed.

If you have a lawn, teach them how to operate the mower.

Other repair skills to teach your children include:

• Cleaning gutters
• Tightening or replacing a doorknob
• Vacuuming
• Changing air filter
• Hanging pictures
• Washing windows
• Watering plants
• Washing car
• Gardening

When you teach your sons home repairs, everyone benefits. Your kids become more confident in their own abilities, and your future daughter-in-law will thank you for sure.

The post 5 Important Things to Teach Your Son About Home Repairs appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Being a mom these days feels sort of like trying to accomplish the impossible. Clean the house, feed the people wholesome well-rounded meals, wash the clothes, make fun and elaborate lesson plans, teach the children, exercise, and still look beautiful for your husband when he gets home. Or maybe those are just my issues…

As a stay-at-home mom, one can even be tempted to think that she must do all of this for herself, by herself. “I have no job outside the home, so that means I have to do it ALLLL. This place should look like a magazine, even while children are running all over it.”

Well, that makes no sense whatsoever. Children are exhausting. Toddlers are especially so. They are wonderful and adorable, and I love them so much that we had four of them, on purpose. However, by 3pm everyday, I sometimes look like a pile of emotionally wrought mush, sitting on my sofa, saying things like, “Okay! Who wants to watch a movie!!??? Pick a long one…”

Then I feel guilty when my husband arrives home, and I practically fly out the door to go take a walk by myself.  There’s this one lady I see on my walk, every time, outside playing with her three little boys. What a great momma. She probably thinks I don’t have a clue. Ha! I am so with you, sister! You just only see me when I’m escaping!!! I would tell you that, but I am surprisingly shy.

I thought about this guilt thing yesterday morning, as I was still in bed, and yet I could hear my amazing husband, returning from the gym, and getting John David out of his crib….at 5:30am.  Sometimes I wonder. Is Alan just a way better person than me with infinity more energy than I have?

He exercises at 5 am. Sometimes JD or Daniel, or even both, wake up that early, and Alan puts them in the double jogger, and takes them with him.

Why can’t I do that? Will you ever see me out jogging at 5 am, with two babies in a jogging stroller?

Don’t hold your breath.

Then Alan comes home and even makes those little ones breakfast! Okay, I’m starting to feel super lazy…  But do you know what Alan DOESN’T have to do?

He does not stay home with them all day long every day. After all, someone around here really should go to work… 😉 He does not have to mediate their every dispute. From morning until evening, he is free of diaper duty and meal supervision. He does not have to write their lesson plans. He does not have to teach them reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic. Nor does he have to make them say “An element is a basic chemical substance defined by its atomic number (number of protons) and atomic mass.”

Daddy does not have to listen to four children take turns crying, falling, whining, or complaining all day long. Oh, that might make my darlings sound bad. They are NOT bad. They are FANTASTIC, lovable children, but they ARE children. Children are not miniature adults. They are more like larvae. They have lots and lots and lots of needs, and whoever spends all day trying to meet those little larval needs will 100% guaranteed be very wiped out by the end of the day.

That’s right. Hug your childcare provider. Seriously. It’s draining.

This is why there are two parents. Some people aren’t that lucky. Many times you can’t help it. There’s only one parent, and you do the best you can do to get by in that situation. That is insanely hard. Every single time Alan deployed, leaving me alone with our children for months on end, I packed my kids up and lived close to family. That whole village thing is no joke. No one should have to raise children alone.

So ideally, there are two parents, and that is by design. We are not polar bears.

What am I talking about with the polar bears?

Well, my first-born son obsessed over all things animals for several years. We watched these two polar bear documentaries over and over. I can tell you with great confidence, “Be glad that we are not like polar bears.” Polar bear cubs are raised exclusively by their mothers. The fathers are too mean. They steer clear of the father. If they don’t, he could actually attack the cubs, so it’s important to just stick with mama. Mama Bear does it all.

People aren’t like that. Mama shouldn’t do it all. That’s why Daddy is there. It’s a shared job. I’m so thankful I married an especially great one. I was so extremely careful about who I even dated, for that very reason.

Alan cooks breakfast every morning for whoever is up early with him. Alan gets the laundry started many days. He packs his own lunch. He cleans up in the kitchen. He earns allll of OUR money.  When Alan comes home at the end of the day, he knows that I will probably have supper made, but he also knows that I will be desperate to get out and go for a walk, just to have a little silence. Alan is our number one boy hair comber and toothbrushing supervisor. He is also better at keeping up with Caleb’s medication than I am. We take turns cleaning up after supper. We take turns on a lot of things. We put the kids to bed together, every single night, and we always have.

I’m SO thankful that I have Alan. Taking care of babies and toddlers is a special kind of exhausting. Thankfully, that’s getting a little easier here. Daniel is almost 4!!!  JD is 18 months and is sleeping a little better lately.

Mothers of little ones, hang in there. Enjoy those hugs and cuddles as much as you possibly can, and never feel guilty about your need to hand over those little ones and have alone time. Seize it! What we are doing is something that is bigger than ourselves. It is a selfless but necessary job, and it is so incredibly important.

No one person can do everything. I figure it’s more important to be happy than to do every single thing that “needs” to be done. I guess it’s easy for me to say that since I am not really much of a perfectionist. Writing is something I’ve done for therapy since I was eight years old. Find your therapy. Cling to every bit of good that you can find in your life.

Before you know it, those little ones will be big ones. My oldest is nine now, and he doesn’t need me all the time anymore. He’s actually a pretty good helper. All that work is starting to pay off for me!

Here comes Dan. He still needs me about every 5 minutes. He decides when my fun time is over….yeah, it’s over. Oh well, I suppose I should cook supper too. Let me go see if I can find Alan…. 😉

The post We are not polar bears. Don’t struggle alone. appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

planning, planning, planning!

So much has happened this past week.  Once our military orders arrived, all systems are GO, GO, GO!  You know all those stereotypes about men?  You know what I’m talking about:  “When men are sick they lay down, but women keep working,” and other such derogatory thoughts our society has attached to our males?

Well, let me tell you, Alan blows all those negative sexist remarks out of the water.  That’s right.  I said sexist.  Everyone’s so quick to call female stereotypes ‘sexist,’ but making fun of men is perfectly okay.  What’s up with that? Maybe you haven’t noticed.  I certainly have.  Being the wife of a high type-A, thorough planner like Alan, plus being the mother of four little boys, makes me a little more sensitive to the negative things our society likes to say about our men.

My husband, sick as a dog, plus recovering from surgery, has gotten more done in the day he got ‘request for orders’ than most healthy people could accomplish in a week’s worth of time. Alan, you are AMAZING!!!

Want to know his secret?  This is how he got this move plan running so quickly:

1.  Before he even secured the orders, he got me the smartphone I wanted, complete with synchronized Google Calendars.  This is my Mother’s Day gift.  I love it.  I used up my whole data plan in two days.  Oops.  There’s a learning curve to these things! But with this phone, I can be a touch more organized.

2. He sat down with me and even managed to get my UNDIVIDED attention to discuss EVERY DETAIL of our moving plan.  You name it, it is planned for on the calendar.

My undivided attention is about impossible to attain! I am never doing less than two things at once, and I’m often doing more than that.  C’mon, ya’ll, there are four little boys here!

3.  He went down to the orders office armed with a dozen Dunkin’ Donuts.  Plus, he’d dropped by and schmoozed with those ladies in advance.  Ha! Good job, Alan!

4. He went straight from the orders office to setting up the shipment of household goods. He whipped out the Google Calendar and managed to get the exact dates we had planned for.  Success!!!

5. On Saturday, we had our Yard Sale!!  We got rid of tons of junk this weekend!  But actually, I may never do a yard sale again:  sunburn, people wanting to buy all of my stuff for $1, and Daniel playing tug-of-war with kids that were buying the toys he really never plays with.  No thank you!  Never again.

Everything is running like clock work! At least I can claim the Yard Sale accomplishment as my own.  Remember “The Great Clean Out”?  I have gone through almost every drawer and cabinet, so I’ll be taking credit for that part.  : )

When we rolled into DC, 5 years ago, it was just Alan, me, Joshua, and Caleb. 

I can’t believe we’re only 6 weeks out from our biggest move yet!

Here are a few quotes from our crazy week:

It was POURING RAIN the other day, and I had to get all of the children into the car.  As I was buckling Joshua in, he said, “Mom, I will buckle Daniel in so you don’t have to keep standing out in the rain.”

*heart melting in my soaking wet spot*

: )  Thank you, Joshua, and that’s why you’re the one we’re going to send to college. ; )  (I’m just kidding.  Caleb often voluntarily unbuckles Daniel for me, so he will get to go to college too. Yes, that’s what you go by!!!)

*****

and bringing the funny as usual….

Caleb walked into the kitchen and said, “Whatever you do, do NOT talk to the toilet.”

“Why not?” I asked him.

“Because, it copies you.”

Daniel immediately ran to the toilet and started shouting into it.

Just another day in the House O’ Boys!

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