Getting Kids Started With Chores
When you’re raising 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 the importance of personal responsibility, how to set a goal and reach it, as well as life skills they will need when they are older.
Getting kids to do chores may be a struggle at first unless they really like cleaning and organizing! My youngest son loved pushing a dust mop when he was 2 years old so it wasn’t too difficult to get him started. Remember to keep trying and not give up. As I said before, chores help your child understand personal responsibility. They also help kids learn how to be part of a team and how their contributions help the family as a whole.
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. This one is hard! Having patience, especially for younger kids, is important. 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 the consequences of not doing chores, see them through. Your kids will soon learn mom means 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. My friends and family thought I was crazy to have my 2
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
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 asked, 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. I created a chart where the kids earn points, and a certain amount of points can be used to “purchase” rewards. For example, 10 points can be used for extra screentime or 20 points can be used to purchase a $5 toy at Target.
Do your kids have chores? If so, I’d love to hear about them! Comment below with their ages and what their chores are.
