Creative Ways To Involve Children In Housework

A lot of parents find it really difficult to involve their children in housework. And in fact this is completely normal – children want to go out, play and have fun. How to take this pleasure away from them and force them to do all those boring chores, which can be annoying even for us? Think of it this way – if you are too soft, it is very likely for you to spoil them and eventually, you will have a lot of bigger problems (like their stubbornness, for example). On the other hand, if you are too harsh on them, well… you will have to get used to the ‘I hate you’ expression. And here you are, wondering which is the right thing to do and yelling something like ‘You will not go out until you tidy up your room’. Unfortunately, the result of this last sentence is more than obvious – after a few minutes your 10-years-old son says ‘I’m ready mom’, the outside door slams and you realize that once again, ‘tidy up’ for him means ‘cram all of your toys and clothes under the bed’.

Have you ever wondered why your child doesn’t want to help you? Many parents complain about the laziness and the irresponsibility of their children. But the truth is that the fault lies with them. Every mother gives all her best in order to protect her son or daughter from some potential danger (like the unstoppable power of the sharp fork). Also, in order to avoid cleaning another stain of juice from the table-cloth or sweeping another broken glass, many parents forget that their children have to learn how to be independent. As a result, a few years later, these same concerned mothers, realizing their fault, try to fix things and find out that now it is even harder. So here are some tips, which may help you get out of this ridiculous, magical circle.

1. Make a detailed list of your children’s duties
In case they don’t take it seriously or don’t do these duties – never make the mistake to do them instead of your kids. Your children have to realize that duties may be boring, but they are something necessary and every family member has to get involved in them.

2. Don’t criticize
If your child has done something in the wrong way, try to explain them their mistakes. In fact, if you have told him/her to do something for the very first time, you should probably help a little bit. (If you think for a while, this can be very useful if you want to make your husband get involved in the housework).

3. Children love to play the role of leaders
They don’t want to hear ‘Well done, son’ or ‘Good job’. Actually, they prefer to receive some awards for their work. In this train of thought, it is very important that your child enjoys the household chores you’ve told them to do. Also (as we already mentioned) if you are being too harsh, your children will take an aversion to housework and they will never get used to it.