How to Get Children to Help with Household Chores

Teaching kids to help out around the house is an important step to teaching them responsibility. Not only will you be getting some help with the household chores but your child will get a feeling of accomplishment and belonging.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A child
• Determination

1. Start early. The younger the child is when he is first encouraged to take some responsibility for the house he lives in the more accepting he will be of the concept.
2. Select an age appropriate job. A four year old can put a fresh trash bag in after you have taken the full one out. A six year old can empty the silverware from the dishwasher or clear the plates from the table after dinner. By eight, most children can empty a dishwasher. Emptying the dishwasher is also good training for loading the dishwasher later on. Older children can sort laundry, vacuum, or take over the responsibilities of a family pet.
3. Make it clear to the child that everyone in the house has to help to keep things running smoothly. Encourage him by telling him how much his work has helped you.
4. A reward system is a very useful. Younger children can be rewarded with stickers or stars on a calendar for each day they performed their task. Older children can receive an allowance but be careful how you handle it. It's good to say "Now that you are responsible enough to handle some chores you are old enough to get an allowance." It is not good to say "I will pay you two dollars every time you do your chore." Paying your child for a chore sends the message that she is working for the money and you will soon find yourself paying her for everything she does.
5. When your child is overwhelmed by a busy schedule or a school project offer to take over the chore for a few days. Be sure to tell him why you are helping him out. Say "I can see you are really busy right now. I'll empty the dishwasher for you tonight so you can work on your project." This gives him the message the job is still his, but you are a family and should help each other out when necessary.
6. Finally, keep in mind that a job you have to do over and over becomes tedious. Once your child has mastered a few jobs around the house make a chore schedule and rotate the responsibilities among all the household members.