A Mothering Moment: Packing

As a mother with growing children, you might be tempted to give your brood tasks in which they are entirely responsible - with very little checking on your part -  so those little people will learn about consequences.

This is not a good idea.

Carefully explain that the trip will last three days so your (highly intelligent, possibly genius) child will need three sets of clothes including: pants, shirt, underwear, and socks. Let him/her happily gather items and stash them in their own backpack. Then, send them on to another important task. But check the bag! Otherwise, this could be the scene in your hotel on the second day of your trip:

The Man: Boy, you really need to put on clean socks.
Boy: But I only have one clean sock.
The Man: Wait, what?
Boy: Mom said to bring three socks. I wore two yesterday so I only have one left.
The Man: Three pairs of socks.
Boy: Oh...that makes more sense.