The fun way to teach your children housework

Let’s be honest; very few people like housework. It is the engine behind the success of many home-based businesses. Catering, ironing, laundry service, house cleaning, window cleaning. Just to name a few. We have to be careful that by taking advantage of those comforts we end up creating a generation that depends on someone else just to survive. It is perfectly fine to use those services when the health of the weather or other justifiable scenarios warrant it; but that still doesn’t negate the fact that our children need to be taught the value of self-actualization. They need to know that even if they choose to pay someone to do their chores, they should be able to do it themselves. Here are some ways to help make working around the house less like work.

The first thing to accomplish is that I care about what’s in it. The quickest route to getting your kids to hate chores is to make them think they are doing it as a lesson or just because you told them to. You have to change your perception towards household chores. If you are double-teaming each room. Don’t worry so much about practicality. You in one area and they in another and you coming back later to criticize their efforts is a recipe for disaster. The way you interact with your child has to be appropriate for her age, but do things that are fun. A pillow fight begins. Jump on the bed with them before cleaning it up. Put the sheet over your hand and act like a ghost. As you dust, brush the dust from her nose or her hair.

Don’t have a condescending warden facial expression. He acts like you’re having fun just being in his presence. He won’t butt in, but take this time to talk about what you like to talk about. Share with them how this takes you back to your childhood days.

Try to work chores around the house around your activities. Don’t demand that homework be done during SpongeBob or Dora. Consider your abilities based on your age. Don’t expect them to be perfect for making a bed at 10 years old. Praise their efforts, but give constructive advice. Try to get them to get internal satisfaction from their efforts instead of offering them monetary compensation for doing it. Tell them how much you appreciate their showing responsibility and maturity. Children love to hear that they are growing and that you are the coach with whom they evaluate themselves.

Let them shine even if you did most of the work. If they help with the cooking, make sure everyone knows that dinner was made by them. If they helped clean the bathroom, tell everyone. There is a good chance that they will become gatekeepers in their efforts to ensure that their work is not trampled by other brothers. Finally, remember never to associate your gestures with housework. Regardless of the tasks being performed, there must be a mental link to something pleasant. Talk about your favorite subject in detail during this time or tell them that you look forward to spending that special time with them because it excludes all other distractions for them. Put the emphasis on them, not the task.