Woman-with-child-near-washing-machine, photo credit bearfotos

Teach your children

Do your young men do their homework? Are your quarrels so frequent that you have often given up teaching important life lessons? It’s not a dramatic situation, you just need to find a strategy and make an organizational plan. Completing house responsibilities doesn’t constantly have to be hard for everyone. For some adults educating teenagers about what to do and how to do it is a convenient part. Teaching children about housework at an early age and doing chores regularly is a very important thing. You need to give an example to the youngsters that they became a responsible person. Responsibility for doing chores teaches teens many vital competencies such as collaboration, responsibility, fairness, and commitment. The competencies and values discovered by doing chores will advantage teens for the duration of their lives.

Girl is erasing dust photo credit peoplecreations
Girl is erasing dust photo credit peoplecreations

What To Do

There are many things that adults can do to inspire their children to do family chores. Here are some suggestions:

Start early.
Parents must begin giving their kids household responsibilities when they are young. Most toddlers love to assist their parents. Parents must take advantage of this desire and supply their youngsters with small and simple tasks. As children get older, they must then be given greater difficult tasks.

Show how to do the chore.
Children need to be aware of exactly what’s anticipated of them. Therefore, it is a correct notion for dad and mom to make sure their teens comprehend precisely what their responsibilities are. Parents must thoroughly go over the responsibilities required and should exhibit their kids how to do the chores in their house. It may also be a good idea to write down and put up all duties on the table.

Teach one chore at a time.
It is probably a true thought for parents to fully educate their kids on how to do one chore, and then to make certain that they are consistently doing it effectively before moving on to other chores. Young kids can be burdened when they are required to examine to chores at one time.

 

The girl sets the bedding on the bed , Freepik
The girl sets the bedding on the bed, Freepik

 

Break down the chore into small parts.
When adults teach kids, they ought to smash every job down into small parts. As a substitute of telling an infant to clean his bedroom and leaving it at that, mother and father should be listing all of the things that make up the chore of cleaning the bedroom, for example, changing the sheets, choosing up toys and putting them away, dusting the dresser, and vacuuming. Parents then show their young people how to do each section of the chore correctly.

Explain.
Children want to be aware of why pitching in and assisting is important. Parents should explain that doing chores advantages the entire family and that every man or woman needs to do his or her housework in the house.

Change the nature of chores as young people grow.
As kids grow, they can be given more and greater challenging chores. Most parents have a proper concept of what their young people are capable to do. Therefore, adults have to make sure that the chores they give teenagers are suitable for their abilities.

Monitor at first.
The young kids are, the greater supervision they will need. After adolescents have turn out to be accustomed to their new duties, parents can reduce again on monitoring and inspecting. Older kids can be given the whole housework to do.

 

The girl washes the dishes, Freeepik
The girl washes the dishes, Freeepik

 

Set up a reward scale or a chart system.
If parents have hassle getting their teens to do their chores or to do them correctly, a reward/chart device can be set up to encourage cooperation. The conventional tips include making a list of the standards for the profitable completion of the chore. Then, a chart ought to be posted in a prominent place in the home. Parents, or children, have to make a mark on the chart for each carried out chore. Parents can both award factors that can be traded in for the favored reward, or they can sincerely supply the favored reward in change for the completion of agreed-upon chores.

Provide logical consequences.
Instead of, or in addition to, a reward/chart system, parents can observe logical consequences. Logical consequences occur naturally as a result of children’s actions. Logical penalties manifest naturally as a result of children’s actions. For example, if an infant, again and again, forgets to put his bike away at the cease of the day, a logical consequence would be not be allowed to use the bicycle for a few days. On the other hand, a logical consequence for a child who repeatedly works hard and completes his chores would be to be given special playtime. Parents and children should decide upon consequences in advance. Parents should always follow through on applying consequences, whether they are positive or negative.

 

Young-teen-girl-sweeping-up-floor, photo credit Rawpixel
Young teen girl sweeping up floor, photo credit Rawpixel

 

Don’t repeatedly remind or nag.
Parents should try to avoid falling into the trap of repeatedly reminding and/or nagging their children to complete their chores. Such reminding puts the responsibility for the completion of the chores on the parents. Instead, adults should make sure that their children are given the sole responsibility for the completion of their chores. If a child forgets or refuses to do a chore, mother and father have to say nothing and simply apply the consequences.

Don’t do the chore if your child forgets or refuses.
Adults should not do their kid’s work for them. If parents get annoyed and give in and do their children’s chores, kids learn several things. First of all, kids learn that their parents don’t mean what they say and will not follow through. Secondly, children learn that if they hold out long enough someone will do their chores for them. Parents should simply apply consequences until their children comply.

Provide lots of praise.
Parents should always provide lots of praise and encouragement when their children make an effort to do their chores. Parents should keep praising, even after their children have been consistently doing a chore well.

Art of Cooperation

Step 1
Discuss as a family – how do we win?

Step 2
What personality traits best describe you? Talk about them. Have the “creative” write them out for the refrigerator as a reminder

 

The mother talks to her daughter, Freepik
The mother talks to her daughter, Freepik

 

Step 3
Who does what? Why? What skills do you have that make you right for that job?

Step 4
Does everyone understand why we do “cooperating” and how this helps our home?

Step 5
How can we celebrate? Develop a menu of celebrations as a family.

 

Age-Appropriate Chores

What duties and life abilities are important for your kids to learn, and what are they competent in doing? This example shows the types of chores and skills that many kids in these age expanses are capable of completing. Remember that every kid matures at a different pace. Set this chart to what you know about your children’s abilities, and realize that no kid should do all of the chores listed below every day.

 

2 – 4-year-olds

  • Help make the bed
  • Put dishes in the sink
  • Pick up toys and books
  • Put laundry in the laundry basket
  • Help feed pets
  • Help wipe up messes
  • Dusting
  • Mop in areas with help.
  • Self-help skills: Brush teeth, choose cloths, or use the potty

4 – 6-year-olds

  • Settable
  • Make bed
  • Cleanroom
  • Help to prepare food to cook.
  • Carrying and putting away groceries
  • Loading the dishwasher
  • Sorting laundry by color
  • Water garden
  • Feed pet
  • Set out clothes for the next day
  • Set out a backpack, shoes, etc.

7-12-year-olds

  • Clean and organize the cabinets or storage closet
  • Help wash the car
  • Vacuum the car
  • Learn to wash dishes
  • Help prepare simple meals
  • Basic meal planning
  • Type/write the Grocery list
  • Help with shopping
  • Clean the bathroom
  • Plant flowers, vegetables or plants
  • Rake leaves
  • Walk the dog

Benefits of doing chores

  • Build basic life skills
  • Practice developmental functional skills
  • Instill Personal Responsibility & Self-Discipline
  • Foster Independence
  • Teach Time Management

The main purpose of teaching a child to do household chores is to provide opportunities to learn and practice functional skills and make a child more independent with appropriate support from the family. Focus or rely too much on outcome and productivity could lessen the desirable benefits.

 

Household Chore
Household Chore

 

Sources: Household Chores Building-Up Your Child Functional Skills And Responsibility.
Children And Chores, written by Kristin Zolten, M.A. & Nicholas Long, Ph.D., Department of Pediatrics, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Artwork by Scott Snider.
Parenting Guide, Avoiding Chore Wars, Focus on the Family
Involving Children In Houshold Tasks: Is It Worth The Efort?, As Published By The University Of Minnesota

Written by

Irena Canji

I am a teacher in kindergarten. I have been working with children aged from three to seven since 2000. Also, I am a mother of two kids. My son is a teenager and my daughter is going to kindergarten. My main goal through the website is to show that the process is more important than the product. In childhood, kids need to play, have fun, learn through their experience.

The content of this website is an interesting activity for children. You don't need special skills, lots of money or too much preparing.

Just smile, only positive energy, and goodwill!