If it Ain't Broke, it Ain't Ours

Jeff Foxworthy addressed this in one of his standup shows back in the 90s.
"We just can't have nice things!" is what his mother laments after Jeff and his brother break their dad's Jack Daniels Elvis decanter.
Here's one for you...you can.
My best friend has two daughters.  Girly but tomboyish at the same time.  They have a beautiful home, knick-knacks galore, nice furniture and electronics, and a house that doesn't look like a tornado blew through it.
I say this because I can come by unannounced and the place still gets Good Housekeeping's seal of approval.
It started at an early age with their firstborn.
Their mother, despite raising two children, still finds time to keep her house clean.  It's something you make time for.  While your spare time becomes a premium after the kids come, how you keep your home influences housekeeping skills later in life.
When her first daughter came, as she vacuumed her floor, her daughter was right behind her with her toy vacuum cleaner, attempting to pick up what Mommy might have missed.
And in our home, our daughter knows what to touch and what not to.
And if she has a hard time differentiating, we simply put it out of reach.
Knick-knacks are one thing.
A $650 iPhone or iPad is another.
And our 50-inch plasma LCD TV is protected with a TVArmor shield.  Spend $180 now, rather than the $1100 later after the kid uses the telly for target practice.
More than this, you need to teach your children what's off limits.
And do it properly.
Tell them why they can't touch certain things.
Because they break easy.  Telling them because "it's mine" will open up an even bigger can of worms for you to deal with.
And it's important to respect the property of others.  If they know the rules at home, they know it elsewhere too.
Remind them that this is why you buy them toys. 
The unspoken reason they don't need to know.
So they leave your stuff alone.
They'll eventually figure it out.
And it'll be when they have kids of their own.
So now's the time to hide that Elvis decanter.

NEXT WEEK:   Trick-or-treat