Let your children choose the chores
Let your children choose what they want to do, ask and listen to ideas about which housework they like best. You might ask, “What housework do you like to do? Do you want to set the table or put the dishes in the dishwasher? ” In this way, children will find that they are chosen to do chores, not be forced. But remember, parents still have the final say and can assign chores even if the child doesn’t want to.
Or another way is to surprise children. If you have two or three kids in your family, why not create paper cards on which they have different chores on them for them to draw and choose what chores to do. You can even create a lucky card on it that says “Today is my holiday”.
This will make them feel that they have a choice to do the chores they want and are even more excited to see their siblings do chores while they get a day off. This approach will bring a lot of joy and excitement for children even though they have to do housework for their parents.
Assign housework in accordance with the child’s age
With children 3 – 4 years old, parents can assign chores to their children, such as storing their own clothes, throwing tissues or cleaning the table after meals, turning off the lights before going to bed. Parents should remember that the goal of assigning housework is to build a habit and accountability for the child, not asking the child to clean the table, fold the clothes neatly because the child is young and new to chores.
As they get older, they can ask them to do more. These are tasks that take a little more time, require more effort and are more complicated such as arranging and cleaning the table; sorting or folding clothes, washing dishes, sweeping the house or taking out trash.
Make a small contest to see who is better at chores
Children enjoy healthy competition and if you add this to chores, they will be happy and excited about helping their parents. Why not try setting a timer and awarding a prize to whoever cleans the room first? Or you can open a mini contest to see who takes the best care of your pet. Have your child and sibling take turns taking care of the pet weekly, then evaluate who does the best job at the end of the month.
Reward your child for outstanding chores
You can set up a reward system when your child does well in chores, for example, every time your child completes a task well, he or she will get the equivalent of one star rating. how can parents reward them in many different ways, such as letting the child go to the movies or giving them ice cream.
Encouragement is a great way to make your child happy and to endure the challenges or things you don’t want, such as chores. Children will learn that in life they may not like all the things to do, but if they persevere, the end of the day will be rewarded.
Don’t use chores as punishment
Parents should avoid using chores as punishment for their child’s bad behavior or grades. In this way, children will forever associate housework with something negative, contrary to their parents’ wish that chores are a way for them to learn essential life skills, to learn about the sense of responsibility.
Instead, parents encouraging and praising their children when they help with the housework will help your child see the chores in a positive way. Punishing them by making them do chores will arouse in your child a deep hatred of chores, and this thought will even extend into their adulthood.
