School is not in session, Your children are at home and they can help out with chores. This can be simple tasks and probably doesn’t require a lot of time on their part. The following, courtesy of Newspaper Metro, gives some tips and suggestions to make chores helpful and beneficial for kids.
“Make your bed.” “Clean up the toys.” “Take out the garbage.” Parents routinely utter these phrases and others to their children.
Children can be adept at procrastinating in regard to their chores. Parents must be diligent when introducing children to age-appropriate chores because they can help youngsters grow up into well-rounded and knowledgeable individuals.
By giving children responsibilities, kids feel like full participants in the family. In fact, Harvard Grant study researchers identified love and worth ethic as things all people need in order to be happy and successful.
For children who do not work outside of the home, chores can instill a work ethic that helps them be happy and successful. Each child matures at a different pace, but many kids can manage the most common household chores when they reach certain ages.
Here are some tips that make navigating kids’ chores a little easier.
–Don’t require perfection. A child may not immediately perform a chore as well as an adult or adhere strictly to a parent’s specifications.
For kids to learn from the experience and be encouraged to continue, parents need to be a little more flexible when judging how kids perform their chores. Yelling that the job wasn’t done up to snuff may set kids up for failure, compelling them to throw in the towel prematurely.
–Even young kids are old enough for chores. The family resource Focus on the Family, says that children as young as two or three can start to help with chores. Assisting with making beds or picking up toys can be a great place to start.
Children can be allowed to get dressed with minimal parental help or choose daily outfits as they reach school age. Children can help with cleaning, laundry and other tasks by the time they reach middle school age.
– Give a lot of praise. Praise kids as they are performing their chores and reward this good behavior. The goal is for parents to build positive momentum, especially for young children.
–Be consistent. Stick to a chore schedule and remind children tasks must be completed in adherence to that schedule.
Assigning kids a chore one week and then not another may discourage kids from accepting the responsibility of chores.
–Hold them accountable. It’s easy to spoil children by giving in to everything they desire and not expecting enough of them in return.
To ensure their children can function independently in the outside world, parents have to instill a sense of accountability in their youngsters. Chores can help do just that.
Chores can help children grow up to become responsible, hardworking adults.