Are your kids doing chores around the house?
If you want to get your children to do chores well, you should understand that it will cost you a lot of time. Making your children get involved in daily household management is very good for them as it can make the kids more responsible and can help them realise the value in the home. What’s more, the child can enjoy a team atmosphere and develop good habits and organizing skills at an early age. This article has some great home organizing ideas and 5 ways to make children love participating in chores.
Work on doing one chore at a time well. Don’t overload your child with a million things to do every day. Give them one chore a day and in the beginning help them until it is done well. When this chore becomes more of a habit, give them a second chore and let them have the space and time to do this chore well without any reminders. This is the beginning of developing independence, good habits and routines.
Children love to help out and chat with their parents. In the beginning doing chores together can create a fun atmosphere that makes time fly as well as giving you the opportunity to model how to perform the task well. Little things like cleaning the kitchen while your child unloads the dishwasher and having a nice conversation can go a long way to making helping in the house a good experience.
Acknowledge their contribution. Let Dad know what they did and acknowledge how valuable their help is and how much you appreciate what they do. Praise is always valuable and your child will glow with pride. This supports those feelings of being included, of being important and being of value and creates a team feeling within your family.
Set your boundaries and get play and chores in balance. Removing children from the computer, T.V. or play to help out will always be difficult so timing is everything. When you plan a chore, make sure you are clear and communicate when it needs to be done. Examples are making beds before school; watering plants before play, no T.V. until rooms are picked up. Planning chores in the morning, just after school, before Saturday play or before they leave the house are times that can all work well.
Be consistent. Follow through and consistency are really important and getting yourself organized enough to choose what chores you need done, how you will model the task, what follow through may be needed and how you can support your child is critical and can save you a lot of frustration. Get clear on what chores are daily, weekly or monthly and follow through to make sure they are done. Try these home organization tips so you can discover how to organize some help in your home and foster the seeds of good organizing habits, independence and team spirit in your children and your family.
Ezine article by Jane Alais
Happy Organizing! Bridges