Lynda Loveland: What goes around, comes around

The things kids play with these days may be different, but the stuff kids do never changes.

As a child, I bet you did at least one of the following: Hid your peas in the mashed potatoes or somewhere, hid candy wrappers or 'cleaned' your room by throwing everything in the dirty clothes basket.

Well I'm here to tell you it comes back to bite you in the butt!

Not one, not two, but all three of my children are in on the instant room cleaning scam. Lately, after telling them to straighten up their rooms, I go in to find their clothes baskets overflowing like the trash can the day after Christmas!

Is this just a phase kids go through? Is it somehow built into their DNA to activate at a certain age, like a time bomb waiting to go off? Oh wait, that would be puberty.

True confession time. I did it too. I HATED picking up clothes in my room. I'd fill TWO laundry baskets! I was just talking to another parent who said their kids did the same thing. We moaned and groaned for a minute and then I said, " I bet you did it too." She looked at me, smiled broadly and said, "Yes, I'm guilty."

So as I'm sorting through their clothes and putting the clean ones on their bed to be put away, I'm thinking one thing, sorry mom.