Teach Your Child Responsibility with Household Chores
One of the primary responsibilities of parents is to rear children to become responsible, mature adults. Of course, the parenting role never ceases, but when you are able to get your children to a stage of self-sufficient responsibility, a part of your job would have been completed successfully. And getting them to that stage will certainly take years of work!
As children grow, there are different things you can do as parents to teach them responsibility. While they remain under your roof, you can start to assign household chores to them, and measure their development based on how well the chores have been completed. This is also a great way to show them how to take ownership of things.
Let's take, for example, doing the dishes. When looked upon as simply making the dirty plates clean, your kids might not feel they're doing something significant.
However, if you instill in them the importance of ensuring the dishes are clean so members of the family won't be exposed to bacteria from dishes that aren't washed properly, they'll start to see the importance of the task. When they realize that the well-being and health of the family is in their hands, they'll hopefully start to perform the task with more conviction!
It's a similar scenario when it comes to chores like mowing the lawn. Older kids who are assigned to this chore absolutely hate it, but when you explain the importance of the task to them, you may very well start to get a different response.
Let your child know that one day the house and property may one day belong to them, which they'll undoubtedly become excited about! Then, let them know if they allow the shrubs and lawn to grow up high, it will diminish the appearance of the home, and result in it devaluing. Knowing that a home that'll be theirs one day could stand the chance of losing its value will be more than enough reason for them to get busy with mowing.
At the end of the day, the idea behind using chores to teach your child responsibility is showing them how their input can result in a much more favorable outcome. When they realize the impact they could have, they will likely get more involved and take ownership of the task. They might not necessarily like what they're doing, but will be more likely to take ownership of it when they realize they're in charge of the outcome.
About the Author
William is a freelance writer living in Kitchener. He currently publishes a helpful baby product site http://babydollstroller.net/
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