Easy Ways to Teach Kids Responsibility
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Parenting Advice
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We all hope our kids will turn out perfect. That they will be polite, hardworking, smart, and very responsible. But kids aren’t born well behaved, they have to be taught, and that is where the parents come in. But when is the right time to start teaching kids responsibility, and how do we even fit that into our busy lives? Well the time to start is right now and here are some easy ways to do it:
Give them only their own tasks
In the beginning, don’t overwhelm your child with household chores, let them first learn how to do their own obligations: put away the toys, put the bottle in the sink when they’re done with their milk and help prepare their own bath. Connecting the feeling of responsibility to something they love will help them realize why it is important to do certain tasks Later, when they better understand the concept of community, they will be more inclined to help with other household chores.
Tell them why they are doing it
If you are trying to teach them to put away their toys when they are done, but if they don’t do it you still clean up after them – you are not teaching them anything. Some lessons are hard to learn, but the only way they will learn them is by doing something themselves. For example, if they have a favorite bottle they like to drink out of, but they didn’t put it back in the sink when they were done, then they can’t have it next time, because it’s not clean. Or when one of their toys gets lost in the mess, because they weren’t putting it away when they were done, explain to them that if they put away their toys, that won’t happen in the future. Don’t reward them and don’t punish them – simply let them learn from their own actions.
Give them more responsibilities, but more freedom
You can’t possibly expect your children to do the tasks of putting away all of the dishes after dinner, if you never let them try to cook. As they grow up, they can take on more and more responsibilities, like cleaning their room or mowing the lawn. A good thing to teach them is time management. For example, even if you are the one taking them to soccer practice, make sure that they are the ones that say when you should leave to get there on time. And definitely include them in all of their choices. When you are handing the time management responsibility to them, show them a website like The Watch Shop and let them choose their own watch. It will feel like you had literally passed down a torch and gives them a better incentive to be responsible.
Lead by example
You can’t expect your kid do keep the room tidy if your bedroom is a mess. No matter how busy your life is and how impossible of a schedule you have, you must always lead by example. If you want them to learn how to clean their bike on their own, take out yours and clean them together; if you want them to clean up after dinner, have them cook it once, and you clean up afterwards. Give them a good example to follow and push other people in their surroundings – primarily family – to do the same.
Teaching kids responsibility is never easy, but if you do it right, you will not only make your life a lot easier, but you will be setting them up for success. The lessons we learn young are the ones that stick with us for good, so start on time and enjoy the results.
Give them only their own tasks
In the beginning, don’t overwhelm your child with household chores, let them first learn how to do their own obligations: put away the toys, put the bottle in the sink when they’re done with their milk and help prepare their own bath. Connecting the feeling of responsibility to something they love will help them realize why it is important to do certain tasks Later, when they better understand the concept of community, they will be more inclined to help with other household chores.
Tell them why they are doing it
If you are trying to teach them to put away their toys when they are done, but if they don’t do it you still clean up after them – you are not teaching them anything. Some lessons are hard to learn, but the only way they will learn them is by doing something themselves. For example, if they have a favorite bottle they like to drink out of, but they didn’t put it back in the sink when they were done, then they can’t have it next time, because it’s not clean. Or when one of their toys gets lost in the mess, because they weren’t putting it away when they were done, explain to them that if they put away their toys, that won’t happen in the future. Don’t reward them and don’t punish them – simply let them learn from their own actions.
Give them more responsibilities, but more freedom
You can’t possibly expect your children to do the tasks of putting away all of the dishes after dinner, if you never let them try to cook. As they grow up, they can take on more and more responsibilities, like cleaning their room or mowing the lawn. A good thing to teach them is time management. For example, even if you are the one taking them to soccer practice, make sure that they are the ones that say when you should leave to get there on time. And definitely include them in all of their choices. When you are handing the time management responsibility to them, show them a website like The Watch Shop and let them choose their own watch. It will feel like you had literally passed down a torch and gives them a better incentive to be responsible.
Lead by example
You can’t expect your kid do keep the room tidy if your bedroom is a mess. No matter how busy your life is and how impossible of a schedule you have, you must always lead by example. If you want them to learn how to clean their bike on their own, take out yours and clean them together; if you want them to clean up after dinner, have them cook it once, and you clean up afterwards. Give them a good example to follow and push other people in their surroundings – primarily family – to do the same.
Teaching kids responsibility is never easy, but if you do it right, you will not only make your life a lot easier, but you will be setting them up for success. The lessons we learn young are the ones that stick with us for good, so start on time and enjoy the results.
