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It’s never too Late…
Yes, it is not that easy to get your older kid/teenager to do household chores.If you’ve been feeling that things could have been rather different and you might have done a better job of encouraging your child to get habituated to carrying out chores, worry not. You still can do wonders on that front and make your child or teenager learn the importance of taking responsibilities. The first step towards achieving it would be to avoid overthinking and blaming yourself for not being responsible enough. It’s ok; it is a fact that all of us do falter somewhere sometimes. You need to focus on connecting with your older child and making chores seem a necessary part of life.
Here’s how to get your older kids to do chores:
Be a part of the task initially:
If you start the process of performing the chore assigned by you, the child will feel naturally inclined to perform the task; in fact, you can expect your child to take over from you and continue with the chore. It will be great if you do something else too simultaneously so your child notices that running a house does mean quite a lot of work. Appreciate her or him genuinely and show you are truly touched.
Show you do expect support, albeit subtly:
It’s alright to show your children you have some expectations from them, but in a positive spirit. It does no good to order children around and make them feel helpless for not helping so far. Show your appreciation but at the same time, do not give a detailed account of the necessity of helping parents.
Get Creative and Fun:
Children at any age like a dose of creativity and excitement. You can play your child’s favourite music to set the mood and show you have her or his likings at the back of your mind. Add an element of challenge without going overboard. For instance, if you’ve asked your child to clean a part of a room, ask her or him to clean it entirely the next time, and faster the next (subject to the child’s comfort level, of course). Make sure it looks like you’re loving the moment too all along.
Switch Work Occasionally:
Doing the same things, again and again, may get boring for your child. So why not give your new learner a different task after some time? It’s also a great way to teach children new things, which certainly comes in handy. Check out age wise chores here
Let them feel like Decision-Makers:
Allow children to take some decisions on their own while doing chores as it will raise their confidence and also make them feel valued, it works! Let them keep their clothes or change arrangements in the room as they want to, if possible. Also, don’t nag or make them feel guilty in case they make a mistake. Simply show them the right way to do it and talk as you would to an adult.
Do give a thought to the considerations above and try to incorporate them with a cheerful, positive spirit!
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