Children who regularly do chores at home are more responsible, have high self-esteem and are well-equipped to deal with adversity, frustration, and delayed gratification. Find out tricks and tips that will help you in introducing chores for kids, so you can set your kids kids up for a responsible future!
Tricks for Introducing Chores for Kids
Children who regularly do chores at home are more responsible, have high self-esteem and are well-equipped to deal with adversity, frustration, and delayed gratification, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Unfortunately, kids don’t know that, and many of them are not willing to put aside their toys or video games to help parents out with chores.
While it may seem like an uphill task, it’s vital to introduce your kids to chores from as early as age 3 if you want them to become self-sufficient adults who can handle the responsibilities school, work, and relationships throw at them.
Come up with a chore chart
If you want your kids to develop a habit of doing chores, start by creating a chart to keep visual track of their chores. To create a chore chart, you first need to list all the chores you have in your home including doing dishes, taking out the trash, laundry, mopping the floor, and mowing the lawn.
Once you have this list, the next step is to assign chores to your kids while taking their ages and abilities into account. For example, good chores for pre-kindergartners include putting toys away, matching socks into pairs, or putting clothes in a hamper.
6 to 10-year-olds can separate laundry, organize mail, set or clear the dinner table, or water plants in your garden.
For children over 10 years old, you can have them vacuum, unload the dishwasher, mow the lawn, or help with dinner preparation.
Make a chart yourself, or buy one like this.
Teach your kids how to do the chores properly
Do not assume that your child knows how to do a certain chore correctly no matter how easy you think it is. When your child is unable to do a chore, they might feel like they are incompetent or letting you down. Plus, you’ll have to redo the chores they don’t do correctly which can be frustrating. As such, take the time to teach your kids how to do the chores you assign to them until they master them.
For example, if you are teaching your child how to clean, explain the appropriate cleaning methods used for different surfaces, how to use various cleaning tools, and the importance of using sustainable cleaning materials.
If the chore is doing laundry, teach your child the importance of separating colors and the appropriate measurements for detergent or bleach.
Keep in mind that children’s learning curves are different, so give your child enough time to learn without being overly critical.
Make chores for kids fun
When introducing chores for kids, you have more chances of success if they think it’s fun. One way to do this is by making chores seem like a game.
For example, you can use a timer to set up a competition between your kids on how long it takes to do a certain chore. Another way to make chores fun is by having a reward system so that your kids have something to look forward to at the end of each chore. Keep in mind that the rewards don’t have to be monetary.
For more ideas of how to make chores for kids fun, check out these Fun Clean Up Games.
When introduced at an early age, chores serve as a gentle introduction to what it takes to be successful at school, work, and future relationships. Your kids will gain essential life skills that they’ll use well into adulthood while you get more free time to read books, watch movies, or enjoy a glass of wine knowing that some of the household chores are covered.
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