My husband is away for the weekend camping with our daughter and it has come to my attention that my boys do not think I know how to start our grill. This all came about when for dinner my 8 year old son declared that he would like to have hot dogs but not the microwave kind (yes--we are big fans of microwaving a Ballpark turkey frank) the grilled kind. I told him that sounded like a great idea to which he replied "Do you know how to use the grill and make a fire?"
I realized, when my other son saw me head outside with matches and with a shocked look on his face asked, "Wow, you know how to light a fire?" "Don't you need daddy to do that?" that I needed to nip this whole notion of gender related jobs in the bud. "Of course, I do, mommies know how to use the grill," I replied. If I had it my way I would have just nuked that wiener, but now I had a point to prove--yes mommies can grill! So out I went with my grilling accoutrements in hand ready to make the best tasting most perfectly grilled hot dogs my boys had ever tasted. And I did--or so I like to think.
This whole little incident reminded me that we need to be careful not to fall into stereotypical roles in front of our kids. The dad who grills, the mom who cleans, etc. We need to make sure that as parents, our children see us taking part in everyday tasks and not always the same ones. Hmmm, this makes me wonder, would they ask their dad "Do you know how to use the washing machine?" when/if they saw him with a laundry basket under his arm. Actually, I think that is a question that would be on all of our lips.
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