Children can and should be taught to help out around the home. To be a part of the family unit is to carry your weight - whether you weigh 35, 85, 105, 135, or....we won't go there.
Children love to feel needed and they need to feel loved. They feel loved when they feel like part of the family unit. A family is a group of people that live and work together. Everyone works hard and does his best because he is needed and is part of the bigger picture.
Children are just like adults. They compare themselves with the work they do. There is satisfaction in hard work. There's self accomplishment in knowing that the job you did was hard, but you got it done because you worked hard! Everyone - even your child - loves to feel successful.
Remember to keep it all age/ability appropriate. As a mother you know what your child is capable of. If a child did his best, it should be considered perfect - even if you need to re-do it a bit later when no one's looking.
If a child did a satisfactory job, but you, as his mother, know that he didn't quite do he best, he should be expected to do it again.
Never compare one child with or against his sibling - EVER! God doesn't do that to us. He only expects us to be the best we can be! That's all we can ask of our children too. Compare them with their own ability.
Make working fun!
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- Plan an activity for after the job is done.
- Play music.
- Talk to your child. Ask questions. Be interested in your child and his feelings.
- Make everyone their own aprons. Let them help you decorate or design them.
- Scrubbing the floor with rags and soapy water is totally awesome when everyone is working together. My kids call it ice skating and they love it! Everyone gets a rag {or 2} and they scoot around scrubbing the floor {and drenching it sometimes} but it always ends up clean and everyone has fun getting the job done.
- Changing the bed sheet is incredibly fun when you get to jump in that huge pile of sheets and blankets on the floor.
- Dusting is the one and only time you can get buy with jumping on the furniture - gotta clean those picture frames and head boards!!
- Vacuuming is always fun too - chasing the kids with the vacuum is a blast! And believe me, they let me know when it's a been a while since we've vacuumed out the couches! They love to make forts out of the pillows. {But they have to do the vacuuming first!}
- Laundry is fun - sorta. Remember. Ya gotta be creative. We've been know to have sock wars. You can't throw any socks unless you find, match and fold a pair of socks, then you can throw them at someone who is still searching for a match. And you have to go and get the pair you just threw - socks go missing to often as it is!
- Never be afraid to try a little shock therapy! If a child is walking through the kitchen {or within shooting distance of the shooting/spray thingie that's connected to the sink} - grab the shooting/spray thingie, aim and FIRE!! Works every time! The kid will jump, duck, and run away - but they always laugh. You may need to watch out for retaliation. If your kids are like mine, they will be looking for ways to get even!! =D
- Dishes - wrap a rubber band around the kitchen hose/sprayer thingie. Be sure the rubber band is holding the lever that sprays the water. Tell a kid to go wash the dishes. When they turn the water on it will spray them in the face!
- Watering the garden or washing the van - let the little guys wash their bikes when the van is clean and don't forget the - Water Fight!!!!
The idea is not to waste time or be cruel. The idea is to have fun. Laugh. Make memories. Do whatever you can to turn trivial jobs into life long memories. Your child will remember and associate work with fun!
It's possible to have children that love to work! It's possible to have children that would rather help mom clean the house than play outside. I know! I have 4 such children! I literally have to make them go out and play some days - for my own sanity! =P
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I want to come clean at your house :) I definitely need to use some of your ideas. My kids like the house crunch cleaning we do sometimes where 3 of us go in a room and do as much as we can for 5 minutes (less if they finish before the timer goes off) and then on to the next room.It's amazing what you can get done in 5 minutes x 3.
ReplyDeleteLOL Well, come on over! The more the merrier! I'm all for having more help with the cleaning! =D
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas Angela! My daughter loves to help put the silverware away and my son is good about making his bed (as neat as a 4 yr old can) but sometimes they struggle with picking up there messes.
ReplyDeleteBe careful with the kitchen sprayer prank. I remember my mother told me about it in a story as a child then I pulled it on her when she was dressed up in a business suit. She was NOT happy, and I couldn't figure out why because when she had told me the story it had been so funny. Tee hee, she made me write a letter of apology, and I still didn't get why what I did was wrong.
ReplyDelete