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As your little one grows and gets older, it’s time for them to exercise some responsibility and autonomy. After all, how will they ever learn to function well as an adult if they don’t learn to do things efficiently from an early age? Most parents find that giving kids an age appropriate list of chores to do is the best way to get them to learn how to be responsible and skilled. But this is easier said than done. No child likes being told what to do. In fact, they usually go about doing the exact opposite of what they must do. And this can be infuriating for overworked and tired parents. Although you may be tempted to wail on your child or just give them a beating, this will do more harm than good in the long run. Still, if you’re wondering how to get your kids to do their chores without having to nag them constantly, then this is the article for you. Read on to pick up a few tips and tricks!
1. Make The Invisible Visible
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Kids are often oblivious to everything you need to do in order for the household to run efficiently. They are used to everything magically falling into place from the moment they wake up. And seeing everything that goes into ensuring that the day runs smoothly for the family can be a tad bit overwhelming at first. A good way to make sure that your child understands the working of the house and what role they are to play in it, is to sit them down and have a family meeting. Show kids an outline of everything that needs to happen in a day or a week and then highlight what they can help with.
This can be a task as simple as packing their own lunch, doing their homework on time or making sure they put all their dirty laundry into the hamper. Whatever the case may be, they need to participate. You can also ask them why they lost interest in learning. Would they rather help with the gardening and dishes instead of laundry and dusting? That’s okay! As long as your child slowly learns to pick up all the skills, there’s no harm in having favorites.
2. Treat Nagging As A Sign That Something Is Not Working
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Sure maybe your family has always gone about doing chores a certain way, without any complaint for the past 5 generations. But that can change and it should. Especially if you are having to remind and nag your kids to do what is expected of them often. This isn’t efficient and chances are you’re losing more energy instead of increasing productivity at home. Hearing yourself nag is a sign of frustration. So it’s time to turn to something that works for you and the kids. Maybe what will work best for your family is democratizing domestic labor. Make sure your expectations of your kids are clear and fair. And then allow them to discuss amongst themselves and choose how they are willing to contribute this week. You can also use a draw system if your kids would much rather leave it up to chance. The important thing is to keep switching out the method of selecting and doing chores until you and your kids are onboard with your system.
3. Start With Problem-Solving
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As soon as your child learns to speak their own mind and wants autonomy, everything is a power struggle. So making decisions without involving them and then expecting them to comply and obey isn’t the smartest plan. So if you want your little one to help you without giving you the stink eye, problem-solving is the way to go. Sit your child down when you are both calm and help them acknowledge your feelings. Even saying something like “I noticed how annoyed you were when I asked you to put your shoes away”, can go a long way. And tell them why doing the action is important.
For example, leaving your shoes in the middle of the hall can dirty the floors or trip someone. Then write down that problem at hand, “How can we put away our shoes?”. And come up with a few problem solving solutions with your child. Maybe they can put them away as soon as they take them off. The process is as important as the solution. Involve your child and watch them implement what they came up with, with you instead of just doing what you say.
Raising kids to be responsible and follow through even when it comes to something as trivial as folding laundry is important. This is how they learn to become productive and independent individuals. But this doesn’t mean you need to scream at them to accomplish this task. By using these 3 easy steps your kids will be more than happy to do their chores without being told to.
