What's the Use?

Hi!

Recently I woke up to a downstairs bathroom that looked like this:



My first thought used to be, "What a mess! I can't believe Jacqueline wasted all this stuff!! Now I'm going to have to clean it up!!!" When I thought that way, I wasn't asking myself why she did it. Jacqueline, who turned 5 last fall, isn't "making messes," she's learning about her world. When I think of what she's doing as making messes, I'm not taking into account her development.

I also used to think that she's "wasting" stuff by mixing it into her "potions." I had this idea that each thing has a "proper" use and by using things in a different way, Jacqueline was wasting it. What's the use? Well, to Jacqueline, it's just another interesting potion ingredient. As long as it's not harmful, and most of what she uses are baking materials so they're not, what's the problem? Per pound, flour and corn starch are a LOT cheaper than most of the other toys she likes, so I should be happy.

I have explained to her that when she creates these elaborate concoctions she's also committing some time to clean-up. She's probably love for her potions to stay where they are, but (for sanitary and sanity reasons) they need to be removed. It's probably not going to be HER time, mind you, but someone's time. All I can do now is encourage her to keep it localized (like in the bathroom) and ask her help when it's time to clean-up... It sure beats getting angry, which never makes me feel better in the long run, so what's the use in that?

Thanks,
Matt