Although no one likes to do household chores, these tasks seem to be particularly tortuous to most kids. However, one of your main jobs as a parent is to prepare your kids for when they’re on their own as adults, and doing chores can help with this immensely. But convincing your children of the eventual benefits of doing chores can be a challenge. So to help make this a little easier on your as the parent or guardian, here are three tips for getting your kids involved in household chores.
Create Teams
If you’ve tried just telling your kids to do some chores, you’ve likely been met with a lot of resistance. Rather than trying to delegate tasks, Christine Carter and Christina Vercelletto, contributors to Parents.com, advise that you try to work as a team with your kids. When you do this, you can make chores seem more like a game than a task that they’re being told to do. By working as teams, your kids will be able to learn from you about the best ways to complete their chores. Additionally, this will give you time to bond with your child as you and your family work together to achieve a common goal.
Give Them Age-Appropriate Tasks
Depending on the age of your children, the chores they’re going to be able to complete effectively will vary. When you’re first starting out with your young children, Pam Myers, a contributor to Child Development Institute, suggests beginning with putting away their toys or clothes, picking up trash around the house, wiping down hard surfaces, and sweeping up small sections of hardwood floors. As your child gets older, you can start adding more chores or more complicated chores to their list of responsibilities. Just make sure that you’re not asking your child to do something they can’t physically do yet, as this will set them up for failure and won’t help them develop a positive attitude toward doing chores.
Make Chores A Positive Experience
To get your child willing to do their chores, you need to do what you can to make these tasks a positive experience. While it won’t necessarily always be fun, you can make it so chores aren’t miserable. At the very least, James Lehman, a contributor to Empowering Parents, advises that you never use doing chores as a punishment for your child. Once you cross this line, it will be hard for your child to find any type of enjoyment in getting their chores done or helping the family while at home.
If you’re struggling to know how to get your children to help with household chores, consider using the tips mentioned above to show you how to make these tasks less of a chore.
