When you were a child, were you commanded to clean your room by a parent?
Compelled to clear the table or clean the dishes after dinner?
Forced to fold the laundry?
Told to take the garbage or recycling outside to their proper bins?
Sure! These were demanded of me decades ago and our son is asked and expected to do the same today.
These are basic and shared responsibilities to maintain a nice, clean, and healthy home.
- Basic instructions.
- Clear expectations.
- Regular supervision.
- Performance standards.
- Threat of punishment.
- Occasional, necessary enforcement.
Had it not been for all the direct, parental attention, I may never have built the habits and skills necessary to do so as an adult. Playing outside with friends or firing up a video game console was far more attractive. Someone else can run the vacuum cleaner!
And we’ve all had that sibling or roommate who didn’t live up to basic standards of health and cleanliness. Too self-interested. Insufficiently motivated. Plays by their own rules.
But the consequences are shared. And, at the end of the day, someone has to clean up.
And so it is with environmental protection.
