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How to Get Your Children to Do Chores Cheerfully
[Week 20 of 52 Weeks to a Better Relationship With Your Child]
Your first secret weapon is your own attitude
My children have good memories of chore time. In fact, so do I. I believe there are two main reasons why.
I cannot emphasize enough that if you want your children to have a good attitude about something, you have to have one first. If you drag your feet and complain about your responsibilities, they are very likely to do so as well. Parents have the opportunity to deeply influence their children’s attitude toward any kind of work, and this includes household chores.
Having a good attitude is not limited to just being cheerful. It also means examining why there are chores. There are chores because of life and people. The more life and people in a home, the more chores there will be. Chores are evidence of having enough clothes and food. Chores are often evidence that people did things together. While it is true on one hand that some chores are due to things getting broken and dirty, it is also true that some chores are simply a product of creativity. Chore does not have to be a dirty word!
Don’t assume your children won’t like chores
If you want to teach your child to play a musical instrument, you don’t approach them with apologies and a solemn face. You don’t emphasize how tedious long hours of practice will be. You don’t look sorrowful while you explain how you wish you had never learned to play the piano or guitar. Not if you are smart.
It makes more sense to tell a child how you made practice fun and how being able to make music has enhanced your enjoyment of life. You can do the same thing with chores. Help your children understand how doing and keeping up with chores makes life more enjoyable. Show them how to whistle while they work. Draw them into this nitty-gritty part of family life as another way to partake of one another’s company.
Characteristics of a good chore system
A good chore system will
Lets flesh those ideas out.
Definite goals
What are your goals with chore time? Mine were
But the children needed different sorts of goals. They needed
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By Laura Blodgett[Week 20 of 52 Weeks to a Better Relationship With Your Child]
Your first secret weapon is your own attitude
My children have good memories of chore time. In fact, so do I. I believe there are two main reasons why.
I cannot emphasize enough that if you want your children to have a good attitude about something, you have to have one first. If you drag your feet and complain about your responsibilities, they are very likely to do so as well. Parents have the opportunity to deeply influence their children’s attitude toward any kind of work, and this includes household chores.
Having a good attitude is not limited to just being cheerful. It also means examining why there are chores. There are chores because of life and people. The more life and people in a home, the more chores there will be. Chores are evidence of having enough clothes and food. Chores are often evidence that people did things together. While it is true on one hand that some chores are due to things getting broken and dirty, it is also true that some chores are simply a product of creativity. Chore does not have to be a dirty word!
Don’t assume your children won’t like chores
If you want to teach your child to play a musical instrument, you don’t approach them with apologies and a solemn face. You don’t emphasize how tedious long hours of practice will be. You don’t look sorrowful while you explain how you wish you had never learned to play the piano or guitar. Not if you are smart.
It makes more sense to tell a child how you made practice fun and how being able to make music has enhanced your enjoyment of life. You can do the same thing with chores. Help your children understand how doing and keeping up with chores makes life more enjoyable. Show them how to whistle while they work. Draw them into this nitty-gritty part of family life as another way to partake of one another’s company.
Characteristics of a good chore system
A good chore system will
Lets flesh those ideas out.
Definite goals
What are your goals with chore time? Mine were
But the children needed different sorts of goals. They needed