Housework is not something that immediately springs to mind as a form of entertainment for children, but finding ways to get them involved in caring for their home is an important part of their development. They need to learn how to carry out all the routine tasks involved with looking after the place they live, ready for when they leave home; and helping out gives them more of an appreciation of the work you do for them. The challenge is to get them engaged with undertaking the household chores and not make it seem like an overly onerous task.
Get them started young
Springing it on them when they are older and suddenly expecting them to take on a share of the housework is not an ideal way to approach the challenge. It’s far better to start them off when they are little, with small, simple tasks that they will enjoy (although they may not be much actual help at this stage!). Getting children involved in chores can teach them responsibility as well as giving them a sense of pride in their work, and working together. This could involve unloading the dishwasher, or washing up occasionally, or tidying their room once a week. Some tasks won’t be appropriate for little ones, and there will be occasions when you need to carry out larger tasks, for example, if you need your carpets steam cleaned. In those cases, it’s best to use a professional service like mytechnicare.com. Any activity you give to your child should be safe and age appropriate, and when they’re very small, you will need to supervise what they’re up to.
Little and often
Obviously, you don’t want to turn your child into an unpaid servant, expected to do several hours of chores every day. Try assigning them a task that will take ten to twenty minutes to complete each day, and use a variety of tasks, so they have a go at everything. You can inject an element of competitiveness if they have siblings, by turning the completion of tasks into a game, for instance, who can match up the most pairs of socks, or whose bedmaking is the neatest. Small tasks every day will be accomplished far more quickly and with less fuss, and they will soon get into the routine. Offering treats is tempting, but it’s better if they learn to carry out their chores willingly rather than by being bribed. What you could do is offer them sensible rewards, so they are motivated to get the jobs done in good time.
You can also use the methods that you employ yourself to get through the household chores, like listening to music or an audiobook to make the activity more appealing. Learning to do housework is an important part of teaching your children responsibility and how to care for themselves, and if you can inject an element of fun into it, you’ll be bringing up some happy, healthy kids.
