Accessibility Helps Kids be Independent so Parents can be Lazy

I believe accessibility breeds independence.

Do you have one of those refrigerators with a built-in water dispenser? When we bought our current refrigerator, about seven years ago when the kids were just two and five, I was against having one of these. But my husband, in his beautiful, infinite parental laziness, convinced me otherwise.

“I don’t want to have to get up every time a kid wants a drink of water,” he said. So I acquiesced. (Note: ours does not have an ice dispenser, but that doesn’t matter to make this work.)

That leads to the obvious question, “How do they get a drink if they cannot reach the glasses?” Glass drinking glasses should be kept well out of reach of young children. But “sippy” cups and those plastic cups and tops (with a convenient hole for the straw) from your favorite restaurant can be kept at kid-level. Straws need to be conveniently located, too.

This is where the “it takes (at least a little) work to be a lazy parent” comes in.

When I realized that a nearby drawer already held plastic storage containers, all I had to do was rearrange its contents to add some cups and straws.

At the time, the 2-year-old was barely tall enough to reach the refrigerator water dispenser. But the 5-year-old could do it for her, so I could still be lazy.

Then there was an “a-ha” moment. If they can get their own water, can they get their own cereal? So into that same drawer went plastic (actually melamine) bowls. Spoons were in a drawer just above. This, of course, led to a rethinking of the pantry. Cereals and other healthy snacks were moved to a lower shelf, candy high out of reach – accessibility breeds independence.

If you don’t have one of these magical refrigerator water dispensers, you can still be lazy by using one of those home water coolers. My sister has one because she does not like her local water (note: if you go this route, please speak to your dentist about fluoride for your children). Or take a page from a very clever friend of mine, who renovated her kitchen before refrigerator water dispensers were standard. She put a drinking fountain right on a wall in the kitchen. Brilliant! And perfectly lazy!

Disclaimer: I am not a trained therapist or teacher. My opinions are my own. If they help you - great. If you don’t like them, read something else. What works for me may not work for you. If it does, that’s wonderful and I want to hear about it. If it doesn’t, don’t blame me: every kid is different.