We all have busy lives to some degree. Between work, school, time with family, special events, and everything in between, it’s a wonder we get anything done around the house. The good news is that once your kids reach a certain age, they can help you out around the house. There are several benefits to having your kids pitch in, not just for you and your home, but for them as well!
It’s sometimes difficult to get your kids and teens to want to do chores just because of their nature. They haven’t yet matured enough to see the value in this work and their more impulsive nature doesn’t help that foresight. This isn’t to detract from any children in particular; we were all immature at that age, after all they are just children.
Nonetheless, the benefits reaped from helping a child learn the value of these chores far outweigh the protests, procrastination and the sometimes painful learning process. Working as a family unit to get things done together.
Kids are always busy with school, homework and forming social connections with their friends and family. However wonderful our education system may be, there are certain skills that school and homework simply don’t teach.
Learning Life Skills
Getting kids involved in doing chores can give them a sense of responsibility and a new sense of belonging in the family. In time, as they develop, they begin to see themselves as filling an important role in their households thanks to their responsibilities. Holding kids responsible for their chores will instill a sense of accountability and responsibility, which is a vitally important life skill.
Teaching them to, for example, wash the dishes, load and unload the dishwasher, cook basic meals, mow the lawn, mop the floors, prune the garden and so forth aren’t skills that are often explored in school. Between learning these basic skills to care for themselves and their home and instilling within them a sense of responsibility, you’re helping your child learn to live independently when the time comes to leave home.
Boosting Confidence
Furthermore, when your kids complete their chores successfully, it builds confidence in them and their abilities. Keep in mind these learning opportunities are available to children of all ages, but obviously, not all tasks are created equal. Don’t be afraid to allow your kids to try something if they’ve been asking to do it, but only within reason. For example, if you have a three-year-old or four-year-old wanting to help unload the dishwasher, allowing them to start helping with the task isn’t a bad idea.
Being successful in these smaller tasks rather than being they’re too young or too little can make a big difference in fostering a can-do attitude in a child. Yes, it may take longer to get the task done because your kids are still learning, but that investment in their self-confidence is worthwhile.
Teaching Self-Discipline
Kids aren’t always going to want to do chores. If we’re honest with ourselves, we don’t want to do them either. It’s been said much of success in life can be boiled down to just showing up; just plugging away at tasks other people can’t be bothered to do. It’s important to teach kids to work hard both at home and at school and reap the rewards. Not only will this allow them to see the value of delayed gratification but also of self-control and self-discipline, crucial skills that can take anyone far in life.
Managing Time
Time management isn’t just a necessity in our increasingly busy lives. Time management is a practical skill that starts in childhood.
It’s difficult to manage time when we reach the peak of busy adulthood, but if your kids can get some practice in as they grow up, it could set them up for a more organized life moving forward. If your kids have been given responsibilities around the house, be sure to hold them accountable even when their schedule doesn’t always work nicely. For example, they can be a little late to a sleepover to make sure the lawn is properly cut. Sometimes work interferes with your personal life, and sometimes the reverse is true. The sooner your children can get used to this reality and organize their time accordingly, the better chance you give them at a smooth transition to adulthood.
Teamwork
Whether you have one child or more, they can learn the importance of working as a team. Having two or more kids work on a chore together helps them plan their way in tackling a task together. For example, when autumn comes, one child can rake the leaves into piles while the other can rake those piles into bags, then they could switch roles.
If a chore you’re doing is age-appropriate, it might be a good idea to pass a role onto your child. For example, if you’re doing the dishes, your kid could dry them or rinse them before putting them in the dish rack.
Building Respect
There are many precious gifts a child can give a parent, the chief of which being their love. They can grow to have a new respect for you as a parent, too, when they participate in chores around the house. Through working on day to day tasks around the home, they will eventually come to appreciate the hard work it takes to keep a house running smoothly. They may have an easier time cleaning up after themselves when they know how much work it can be if the mess gets bigger.
To Wrap It Up…
Teaching kids to do their chores and to get them involved in housework is a marathon, not a sprint. You remember how it was when you were a kid; you didn’t want to do the chores either. With that being said, though, the chores are an investment in their futures and could give you an extra hand around the house. Working together fosters teamwork, builds relationships and respect and helps us pass our skills down to our kids in an effective manner.
If you haven’t done so yet, it’s a good idea to build a list of chores and start delegating your kids if you haven’t already. There’s no telling what you and your kids could accomplish together.
Do your children help out with any chores or jobs at home?
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Resources— The Center for Parenting Education, Belly Belly, Pure Wow, Momentum Life
**This is a collaborative post in which I received a fee.**
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