Tips for Giving Kids Responsibilities Around the Home
Families are a unit and they function the best when everyone is working toward the same goal. Even though your children require you to care for them, that doesn’t mean they are entirely helpless (although some kids end up that way). Use these tips to give your kids some responsibilities around the home.
1. Give them reasonable tasks.
If you ask your six-year-old to organize the garage, of course she is going to resist. She can’t move many of your items, let alone manage a project that size. You have to give them tasks that are within their abilities to complete, even if those tasks are just pieces of a whole. For example, your child may not be strong enough to push a vacuum cleaner, but she can run the extender along the edges and underneath furniture.
2. Let them make decisions.
Any time you can give your child an opportunity to make decisions, you will cement them in the process. This gives them a sense of ownership over the task or chore. For example, ask your child if she would like to put away toys or dust the shelves. By simply making the decision she’ll feel empowered to complete the task.
3. Patiently answer questions.
It might seem, at first, that your child is asking questions or faking confusion to get out of the chore. Often this isn’t the case. You’ll need to give very specific instructions to your child for even the most basic tasks. Remember, she hasn’t swept a floor before, so you’ll have to walk her through holding the broom, brushing the floor and scooping up the debris.
4. Involve them, even if it’s not practical.
In order to instill a habit, you have to start young. Have your children help you around the house, even if their “help” makes the job take longer. Don’t be tempted to blur through the house getting things in order. Tote your kids along with you and teach them the steps. Think of it like an investment: the more time you spend now teaching them, the less you’ll spend later.
5. Write everything down.
If you’ve gotten to the point with your children that you’re designating responsibilities, it’s time for a chore chart. A chore chart can be anything – a calendar, a list, a wheel, or something clever you invent yourself. Use anything you can to write everyone’s responsibility down. This gives them accountability. They can’t say they forgot or didn’t know if the chart clearly defines their chores.
Written by Holly MacLean from Wee Urban
As a new mom, Holly was driven to start Wee Urban™ to offer the modern family a unique and fresh collection of eco-friendly baby gear and accessories that goes beyond the conventional and explores the exceptional! Tired of traditional pinks and blues and cute motifs, we offer sophisticated designs, “conscious” organic alternatives, practical functionality and superior quality. Using our custom certified organic cotton blends, low-impact dyes, and other trendsetting fabrics, we hope to inspire families to be make better choices and of course- do it all in urban style!
Beyond our organic cotton and azo-free dyes, Wee Urban uses 100% post-consumer packaging and tags for our Wee Dreams™ Sleep Bags. Our distinctive screen-printing is done with 100% eco-inks and are all phthalate free.
We also recycle our remnants and donate as much as possible to local elementary schools to help with arts and crafts programs.
For more information, visit wwww.weeurban.com
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