Toddlers love to help around the
house. Older children become far less
excited about doing chores. They have busy schedules of homework,
extracurricular activities, and friends.
But chores are a good way to give young
people responsibility for a needed task, and remind them that they are contributing
members of the family.
Here are some tips for getting your
children to chip in with family chores:
First, make sure the chores are age-appropriate.
It’s not a good idea to send a young child to take the trash outside by
herself, for example. You can do it together, though, and help her learn until
she is ready to do it alone.
Also, start young. When a child is in
preschool, give him easy chores to get him in the habit of helping out.
A five-year-old can help clear the
table, or put away his clean clothes.
Make sure certain children feel they
were successful in completing their chores, especially given that the goal is
to help them gain self-confidence.
Acknowledge when the chore is complete,
and be sure to thank your child for the effort expended, every time.
It also helps to make a family chore
list to remind everyone of what is expected, and to let them have the
satisfaction of checking off work that’s been done.
Mixing in a new chore can keep things
interesting, along with rotating chores for different children. Everyone can
help out and feel good about it.
