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| Great article about Chores | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: October 20 2008, 05:11 PM (66 Views) | |
| mamasnuszki | October 20 2008, 05:11 PM Post #1 |
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From BabyCenter Children need chores. Helping out around the house teaches social and family responsibility. It gives your child a sense of accomplishment and pride and helps her learn practical skills. Contributing to the household also helps your child feel important, like one of the "team," while gently underscoring that she's not the center of the universe. It's never too late to begin assigning jobs to your child. But the earlier the chore habit begins, the more readily your child comes to think of it as just another part of family life. Most early-elementary-age kids are enthusiastic about pitching in — at least at first. They may need gentle prompts and reminders to keep routine chores going. Start with age-appropriate tasks. If a job is too difficult, your child will get frustrated and be unwilling to follow through. As your child grows she can manage more complex tasks and those that can be done independently. But don't underestimate her, either. Some parents fall into the trap of doing things for a child out of habit, when the child can and should do them herself, such as picking up a room or making a sandwich. At 5 and 6, your child should be able to: Keep her own room tidy Make the bed Set the table Sort her own clothes out of the laundry Match socks Feed and water pets Help prepare meals Clear her own plate at dinner Clean the bathroom sink with wipes Pick up wet towels Empty smaller wastebaskets Place newspapers in the recycling bin At 7 and 8, your child should be able to: Take out garbage Empty the dishwasher Help with yard work Prepare her own packed lunch Clear off the table after meals Bring in mail Clean the cat's litter box Clean sinks and toilet Carry in groceries Entertain a younger sibling for brief periods Make your expectations clear. Once you've explained how to do the job, it's best not to leave any room for arguing about it (which kids will spend more time doing than accomplishing the task). Show how you expect a job to be done and where all the necessary implements are kept. A chore chart can help everyone keep their jobs straight. Some families have daily chores that are done separately and weekend chores that everyone does at the same time. Families with more than one child might swap jobs periodically or let kids choose which jobs they want to do now and then. Keep it positive. Don't do the chore over the "right" way for your child unless something is really wrong and you can constructively show your child how to improve: "The bathroom really sparkles. Let me show you a trick to clean the mirror without streaks." Praise a job well done. Kids thrive on positive reinforcement. Even with routine jobs, let your child know that you noticed she did them and that you appreciated her efforts. Find nonmaterial ways to reward her efforts: one-on-one time with you, watching a special movie together. Decide whether you'll pay for chores. Many financial experts frown on paying for routine household contributions because this defeats the higher purpose of chores, which is to teach the value of contributing to the household and develop a sense of pride in a job well done. The best reason for an allowance is to teach kids concepts like saving and making financial decisions. But some families choose to make chores part of an allowance, while others offer money only for big extra chores, such as raking leaves in the fall or washing the car. |
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| MissAngi | October 20 2008, 06:36 PM Post #2 |
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Owner/Admin
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Great article!!! although I'd start chores off long before 5 or 6! At a year they should be learning to pick up after themselves! |
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| mamasnuszki | October 20 2008, 07:17 PM Post #3 |
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I was looking up Ryan's age group. I am making him work off his bad behavior and looking for more ideas but still age appropriate. |
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| rach679 | October 21 2008, 05:58 AM Post #4 |
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Hailey does little chores too. Nothing too difficult - but we let her help feed the animals, walk them, dishes, toys, and anything else she wants to help with. I don't give her anything with cleaners for obvious reasons yet. But I let her help with laundry sorting and swaping the loads, and folding. I've never agreed with paying for chores. I mean keeping a room clean and taking care of laundry and other things are just part of family life and should not be paid. Now, if she does something out of the ordinary that I perhaps don't expect (maybe when she's a bit older giving the dog a bath - or doing some really dirty work or something along those lines then perhaps). As the kids get older, they should be able to find little ways to earn money, because I really want to make sure she learns the value of saving and spending wisely. I just don't want to give her a free pass. I love the example from our FPU class, Dave Ramsey's daughter wanted a barbie doll - obviously a want not a need. She didn't have the money for it, so instead of daddy just buying it, he made her save and gave her ways she could earn money for the doll if she wanted it. Thats kinda what I want to do with Hailey. Ok :D I'm rambling! I never got paid for doing those things listed - or heck anything. |
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2:32 PM Jul 11
