5 Strategies For Your Child To Help With Chores Around The House
When children are young, it is easy for them to be interested in doing things at home. Although, make no mistake, for them it is a game and, if you are in a hurry, having your child want to help you make the bed or mop only complicates things. However , as children get older, when they can really be useful and take real work away, having a child help out with chores around the house is more complicated.
In fact, housework can be a major source of discussion in the family, especially when it comes to teenagers. It’s normal for teens to say, “I’ll do it later” when you ask them to take out the trash or pick up their room and hours go by and they haven’t moved from where they are. And if you get upset, this behavior worsens, that is, the more you remind them of it, the less motivated to be responsible they will be.
The key to all of this is teaching children to be responsible and independent on their own. This sounds like a tricky thing. However, with patience, consistency and firmness, and also without shouting or punishment, it can be achieved. Here’s how to do it.
Assign specific tasks ahead of time
Calling your child to do an assignment all of a sudden can lead to arguments. If you want your child to be independent and learn to organize, you have to respect what they are doing. Interrupting him from what he’s doing will only put him in a bad mood, especially if he doesn’t like what you’re asking for.
However, if you give him a series of tasks with a series of deadlines, your child will be able to take it into account to organize and do it. Make expectations about these tasks clear beforehand and explain clearly that everyone at home has to help. Make it clear to him what will happen if he doesn’t. In all cases, especially in adolescents, the establishment of a privilege works as a strategy.
Allow some flexibility
Adolescence is the perfect time to learn valuable life skills, such as self-discipline or time management. By offering some flexibility and freedom around assigned chores, you give your child a chance to practice these skills.
If you let him leave after doing the tasks that are due to him or you provide him with the Wi-Fi password *, for example, when he finishes what you have entrusted him, your child will be able to decide when to do things to get what he wants. In this way, your child will learn to manage time better and to make some decisions on his own.
* If you use the Wi-Fi password strategy, keep in mind that you will have to change the router password every day.
Establish a payment system for tasks performed
It is not a bad idea for your children to learn that things have to be earned, that nothing comes for free. So it is only fair that you receive a reward for your effort.
So instead of giving her a weekly allowance for your expenses, it’s a good idea to earn it in exchange for fulfilling your obligations, including housework. This is a form of privilege, since with your money you can later do whatever you want. And if you don’t have it, there are going to be a lot of things you have to give up.
For younger children, this works best if the reward is in the form of a point that they can exchange for something they like, like a book or video game. What works very well is rewarding the time spent on a task for time spent on one of your hobbies, such as playing the console or going to a certain place.
Don’t give him everything he asks for
If you buy and give your child everything he wants, he will not be motivated to do what he wants, since, in the end, he will always get what he wants. Beyond his basic needs, you should not indulge his every whim or let him always have his way.
Collaborating on housework allows your child to learn many basic skills for the independent living that awaits him tomorrow. If you give him everything he asks for, you are making him dependent. Your child has to learn to do things not only because he is going to get something in return, but because one day he will have to organize and do them outside the home.
Don’t distinguish between boys and girls
One thing is that the eldest has more responsibilities than the little one due to age and quite another is that girls have more to do than boys or that their tasks are different for being girls. Tomorrow, both boys and girls will have to face an independent life. And if you want your daughter to have a life as a couple based on stewardship, you will have to offer her that experience.
To do this, it begins by being fair and equitable in the tasks assigned to boys and girls. They will also learn that they are not less able to do certain things because they are men. It’s also a good idea for Dad to get involved voluntarily and responsibly, without sending him. Many children, not only boys, but also girls, do not collaborate at home because they see that Mom does everything and that it is possible to get rid of it.
