When you are raising your kids, you want to show them the right way to do things, teach them important life lessons, and make sure they can one day take care of themselves. A great way to do this is by having them do chores at home. Chores teach kids so many excellent lessons. It teaches your kids the importance of personal responsibility, how to set a goal and reach it, and how to do certain things that will definitely improve their life as they get older.
This week I will be sharing with you a three part series on chores that are age-appropriate. Learn what chores your children can do whether they are toddlers or teenagers and every age in between.
Part 1: Tips For Getting Kids to do Chores
Before looking into the different chores your kids can do at various ages, let’s take a moment to discuss getting your kids to do their chores in the first place. This is going to be one of the struggles you face, once you know what chores your child is able to handle at his or her current age. Remember to keep trying and not give up on your child, as one of these methods is going to help your child understand that chores are part of their personal responsibility and not just something mom or dad will do if they to do it themselves.
Remain Consistent
One of the most important things to remember when you want your kids to do their chores, is to remain consistent. Don’t do the cleaning up for them if they take too long or don’t want to do it. If you told your pre-teen daughter to put her folded laundry away, leave it there until she does it. If you have rules about consequences of not doing chores, see them through. Your kids will soon learn mom needs business and they need to keep up with these responsibilities.
Start Chores at a Young Age
A common mistake many people make because they aren’t aware of what kids can do at certain ages is waiting too long to have kids do chores. Even kids as young as 2 or 3 can do certain things that will get them used to the practice of doing chores. Start them young, and it will be easier to get them to do chores as they get older.
Don’t Worry About Being Perfect
Your child is not going to do the chores perfect every time, but it is the effort that is most important. You can supervise some of these tasks so that you know if something needs to be re-done when they leave the room, such as a kid doing dishes and not cleaning something all the way. However, with things like folding laundry and making the bed, don’t worry if it isn’t perfect. If you judge them for this, they will lose all motivation to keep doing chores.
Keep Praising Your Child
Make sure your kids know that they are doing a good job. Children really want to do good and it helps tremendously when you can recognize their efforts. Every time they do a chore on their own without being asks, do it correctly, or keep up with the chore chart you have created, praise them and let them know they did a good job.
Consider Offering an Allowance
This is an individual choice, but many parents find that giving their kids an allowance works great. Some parents do feel that this is teaching kids they will get a reward every time they do something that should already be expected, while others believe it teaches them good work ethic for the future. This is really your choice, but you might want to consider an allowance, at least for older children and teens.
Chore Tracking
If your kids are anything like mine they love charts and being able to cross things off or check off that they’ve done what is required of them. This is why we love this Magnetic Chore Responsibility Chart. It comes with an 8 pack of liquid chalk markers that allow you to color coordinate it for each child or each chore, whatever works for your family. Of course if this isn’t what you’re looking for there are so many options for chore charts – I am sure you’ll find something that’ll work in your home.
