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Raising a responsible and self-sufficient child is a huge task for parents and anything we can come up with to help us along the way is a godsend. One way to do this is by instilling a sense of responsibility within our children right from the start by giving them something to be responsible for. Chores for children do just that and when you child has a chore, no matter how small, he learns what it means to be responsible for something. When children learn responsibilities, they earn more respect for their parents because they begin to notice just how many responsibilities grown ups have. Not only will chores help build a responsible child, it will help you out around the house as well!
Even the smallest child can do a chore. When your child is only a year and a half he can understand putting away toys. Pick up a toy and put it in a box. You can help your child do this and reward him with praise when he actually does it himself. This will form a sense of accomplishment as well and let your child know that when he throws toys all over the house, he will have to pick them up. Being a slave to your children doesn’t do anyone any good. Even though you may feel like it is faster to do it yourself, it teaches the child that he can pretty much destroy the place and have no consequences for his actions. If your child does not do the chore exactly the right way, fix it later when he is not looking. So what if everything isn’t exactly perfect?
When your child becomes older, you may want to add on to his list of chores. Young children can be responsible for keeping their own rooms tidy and for making their own beds. Even if your 5 year old doesn’t know how to make hospital corners, he can still make his bed to a certain degree and you can fix it later. As your child becomes old enough to understand the concepts of money, you may want to consider rewarding him with an allowance if all of his chores are done daily.
Be reasonable with the number of chores you assign. Small children shouldn’t be overburdened with chores and if the chore is too overwhelming, he will probably not do it at all. If you’ve ever told a small child to clean a completely destroyed play room, you know what I’m talking about. Think about how overwhelmed you feel when you see a huge mess, now think of how huge that mess looks to a small child. Make your chores small enough to accomplish. Don’t set your child up for defeat or the whole purpose of doing chores will be lost. Your child will feel good after completing a chore, but can feel inadequate and hopeless when presented with a seemingly impossible job.
As your child grows, you can begin to assign chores that really will help you around the house such as, dishes, garbage and laundry. These will be a great help to you and your child will know that he is contributing to the good of the family, a great ego booster!
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