Today while getting ready in the bathroom I looked over to find my almost 3 year old unraveling the whole roll of toilet paper. Cringe. It was touching the not so clean floor around the toilet. At first instinct I asked, "what are you doing?" She then showed me how she could unroll it so far that it could reach all the way to the bathtub! I told her to roll it back up and as I was explaining whey we shouldn't do such a thing, random thoughts popped into my head.
My thoughts ranged from a friend once venting her frustration to me about parents overreacting to things their kids do and the shame a child can feel from it (spills, for instance) to my own thoughts of how I'm frequently wanting and wishing my kids could and would entertain themselves a bit more. Hmmm...
I suppose I could have been frustrated because we were running low on t.p., the nearest store is a little market where it may or may not cost double the acceptable amount (which, yes, I do shop there. And yes, I'm grateful to have). And the nearest "big" city where a Smith's or Wal-mart is located happens to be an hour away. And through a canyon. And it's winter. And I was just there yesterday and it just so happens I didn't pick any up.
But I let my kids do crafts where I'm sure the cost of the materials is equal to or greater than that of the toilet paper. So why not let her have a little fun, explore and learn something about a simple thing we use everyday? Maybe get it out of her system so in the future I hopefully won't discover rolls of t.p. unrolled at restaurants, stores, gas stations or grandma's house. So I will explain to her the best I can that she should leave the toilet paper on the roll until she is ready to use it, but for today I relaxed a little and let her explore.
Now if you are a mom and this has happened to you (or something similar like the toothpaste tube overly squeezed), don't let the mom guilt set in. It can be powerful stuff. Just don't be too hasty when your child does something you think is unacceptable until you stop, take a deep breath and look at how excited and interested they are. They are learning about the world! I'm not saying I'll always react perfectly, but I think this taught me something I'll hopefully remember for next time.
And yes, in an effort to conserve our valuable resources, we rolled it back up and are trying our best to re-use it. Hey, recycled toilet paper! Ha ha! Yuck!!!
