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Parents' Guides
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Encouraging Your Kids to Help With Day-to Day Chores
It is a well-documented fact that children thrive on routine and parts of a household's routine are the daily chores that go on to keep the household running smoothly. There are a few things to consider when deciding whether to get your children involved in completing these chores.
How Old Should They Be?Even children as young as three or four can help with simple tasks around the house. A good thing to start with is teaching them to pack away the things they have played with as soon as they are capable. This could be from as young as two years old. When they are young they can help with simple tasks such as feeding a pet, keeping their bedroom tidy or helping to set or clear the table before and after meals. When they get a little bit older they can progress to things like making their own beds, making their lunch for school, taking the garbage out or helping dad clean the car. If you start teaching them these skills young they will become a part of your child's daily life and routine.
To Pay or Not To PayAnother thing parents ask is about paying their child for completing their chores. Should you pay them or should they simply complete their chores because they are part of the family and everyone has to do their bit? We can consider the fact that as adults and whether we are self-employed, an employee, or a business owner we go to work and we get paid for our work. It is a good incentive for the children to be paid and be able to buy some things for themselves. This can also be beneficial to them in teaching them the value of money and how to save for things. It can teach them that everything isn't just there waiting on a silver platter for them, and that some things have to be worked for and earned. We also need to teach them that they shouldn't do things for monetary reward only. We need to teach them to use their initiative and good judgement and to do things sometimes simply because they can see it needs doing. Of course this issue cannot be addressed until they are a little older as young children will not understand something needs to be done unless they are told.
BenefitsSetting a list of chores for your child and encouraging them to complete them teaches your children a number of things. It teaches them responsibility. They have a list of chores and they are expected to complete those chores, they are the one responsible for making sure those things get done. It teaches them teamwork. They are part of the team that is the family, each person has their tasks they need to complete within the team to make sure everything runs smoothly. It teaches them independence. They learn how to do day-to-day tasks that will help them when they leave home and have to fend for themselves. And it encourages self-worth. They can learn to be proud of their achievements, of knowing that they have completed their tasks each week and that those particular tasks have been completed solely because of them.
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Last Updated on Thursday, 02 April 2009 22:59 |
