At The Core Of Chores

Teaching your kids to do chores will not only lighten your load but also teaches them essential lifelong skills and valuable lessons about life, thus easing their transition into adulthood.

Why are chores important?

• Teaches kids about responsibility and time-management. Chores can make children realise that there is work to be done in maintaining a household; time-management can establish helpful habits and good attitudes towards work later in life.
• Teaches kids about cleanliness and respect for property (both their own and those of others)
• One of the best ways to build a feeling of competence. There is a sense of pride in completing a chore and doing it well.

The difficulty that many parents face is in getting their children to do the chores. Kids will try to avoid any type of duty or chores assigned to them by arguing, or creating a fuss and fighting about it. Most parents are too busy to deal with recalcitrant children and usually end up doing the chores themselves instead of standing their ground.

It must be remembered that in the long run, doing your children’s chores teaches them the wrong thing; if they complain enough, they can get out of doing any work.

Getting them involved

Here are some practical tips you can use to teach your child about chores, and also how to get them to complete chores without too much fuss.

1. Start early.Giving your child domestic responsibilities early in life can teach them about cleanliness and get them into a routine. As soon as they are able to walk, your child should be able to help you with chores like putting their toys away or tossing laundry into a basket.
2. Make a list of chores that need to be done in your house on a regular basis and divide the chores among your children. Try dividing them equally (from easy to difficult tasks) to avoid arguments.
3. Keep the chores realistic and demonstrate. Children are not born knowing how to make a bed or wash the dishes. Explain and show what you expect from them. If you always place cups on the lower shelf of the kitchen cabinet, then make sure your child knows this and does the same.
4. Keep the chores realistic and demonstrate. Children are not born knowing how to make a bed or wash the dishes. Explain and show what you expect from them. If you always place cups on the lower shelf of the kitchen cabinet, then make sure your child knows this and does the same.
5. Set reasonable expectations. Don’t expect perfection and avoid criticism. If the bed they made was wrinkled or off-centre, don’t go behind them and redo it, unless there’s a special situation where you must.
6. Create rewards for doing chores and consequences for not doing them. You can give allowances for the chores that are completed, and punishments for the ones that are not. Try not to scold if a chore goes uncompleted. Just be sure that the consequence for not completing the task is big enough that it will encourage your child to pitch in the next week.
7. Make it fun. Turn everyday household chores into games.
8. Praise and thank them. Don’t forget your thank-yous, hugs and praises. Kids of all ages thrive on being praised and are more inclined to help when their efforts are acknowledged and appreciated! Every once in a while, you can say, “I really appreciate you making your bed every day,” or “It’s so nice to see the room look so tidy.”

Lastly, be sure to stand your ground when it comes to doing chores. You can make simple rules like chores must be done before they play or before they watch their favourite show on television. Don’t get emotional or yell and scream. Keep your attitude calm, but repeat the rule when your child starts testing limits.

By keeping your emotions out of the picture, your child will know that he can’t distract you with whining and complaining. He’ll realise that you mean what you say and finish his chores so that he can play.

*Note: The article above is meant for children of both sexes. The use of the word “he” instead of “her” is not meant to represent any gender bias.