A comment I made in an earlier blog entry touched upon the importance of children doing chores, regardless of their age or circumstances. Jo Frost, TV's well known supernanny, is a great role model of a successful parent—she’s clear, consistent and usually calm. She’s in control and not the children. You want your parenting style to be like that of a super nanny, where your children are respectful, responsible and fun to be around, don’t you? Or am I speaking to the wrong crowd!
Of course you do and one of the ways you can do this is by having your children do chores. Why? Because they are a member of a family and need to learn it is important to help out with family chores and duties. If mom and dad wait on the kids all the time and don’t have the kids help with housework, the kids will grow up thinking life comes with a built in maid. I haven’t found that to be true with the families I’ve seen so far. Every parent wants to feel successful and confident when dealing with children. Would it be of value to you to learn how to act more like a super nanny with your children? If so, here are some suggestions.
Sit down and make up a list of possible chores for your children:
· Something that can be done in 10-20 minutes, or
· Something that can be done at least 5 days a week such as making the bed, picking up toys, clothes, etc.
· Putting backpack away neatly
· Even a 2 year old child can be taught to fold napkins and wash clothes—do not underestimate their abilities.
· Then have a family meeting and ask the kids what they think
Make doing chores a game; have fun with it:
- Put on dancing or singing music while they do chores
- Have a contest; whoever finishes their chores first and does the best job gets to -------------
- Be creative—think outside your box.
Until my next entry, I wish you successful parenting