Bored? Scrub a Toilet

Today Sparkle made the comment that she was bored. It wasn't surprising as it was a quiet day after last night's party. I asked her if she would like me to suggest something to do, and commented that she probably wouldn't like my suggestions, since she usually doesn't.

At first I rattle off the usual suggestions: read a book, build something with Lego, draw a picture, clean up toys. I don't get much of a reaction from Sparkle. Then, I remember something that I read about online about putting kids to work when they say they are bored, so, as a joke, I suggest wiping the counters or scrubbing the toilet. Suddenly Sparkle perks up. She wants to scrub the toilet! I'm a bit confounded, but hey, I'll go with the flow. I take her to the powder room and squirt some cleaner into the toilet bowl. Then I point out the brush and let Sparkle at it. She asks me to stay with her, but I tell her that I agreed to let her scrub the toilet, not to keep her company. Strangely enough, she commences scrubbing the toilet cheerfully, and I decide to take a picture.



After she finished scrubbing the toilet, she found something else to do. I casually asked if she was bored anymore, and she said "no." So, I guess that the plan worked. I got a cleaner toilet and Sparkle stopped being bored.