How to Teach Kids to Become Accountable

Kids can learn to be accountable by being resonsible for their belongings.

Being accountable means being responsible for your own actions. This could mean cleaning up your own messes, taking care of your belongings, or being aware of how your actions affect others. It doesn't always come naturally to children, but being accountable is something that kids can learn.

Instructions

1. Give your kids responsibilities. Provide them with things to be accountable for, whether this involves their own personal items or certain responsibilities around the house. Kids can start at a very early age to take responsibility. A toddler can be made responsible for putting all his blocks back in the bin when he's ready for something else. Elementary-aged kids might have their own money to carry around, or your child can be responsible for making sure his bike is locked up in the garage when he's done riding.

2. Let your kids make mistakes. Kids learn about the consequences of their actions by making mistakes. If parents constantly step in and bail their kids out of situations, the kids will come to expect this. For example, if you keep putting away the bike that your son left out in the yard, then he'll probably just keep leaving it out assuming that you'll put it away. It might be hard to watch them make a mistake, especially given that you already understand the consequences, but keep in mind that your child also needs to learn for his or herself what these consequences are.

3. Provide reasonable consequences. Sometimes, there are natural consequences to a mistake that are enough to help kids understand the consequences of their actions. In our bike example, say the bike is left out overnight and it gets stolen. The kid now has to deal with the loss of the bike (as long as you don't rush out and buy him a new one!). If the child has been made accountable for the care of his own bike, then he will understand that there are consequences when he does not act responsibly. Other times, you may need to provide the consequences. Again to our bike example, say he leaves the bike out in the middle of the yard and you have to move it in order to run the lawn mower. While this might be a major irritation to you, your child may not see it that way. But not being able to use his bike for three days might help him understand.

4. Be a good role model. Kids learn how to act by watching others. Parents often have the greatest influence over their kids. So by modeling accountable behavior, the kids will learn it as well. If you make a mistake (and parents are allowed to occasionally), take responsibility for your own actions and don't blame the mistake on someone else. Make sure you apologize when necessary and let your kid see you apologize. By watching you be accountable for your own actions, your child will learn to do the same.

References

• Professor's House: Family: Children: Articles: Giving Children Responsibilities
• alphamom: parenting: Five Mistakes Every Kid Should be Allowed to Make
• Family Education: Provide Related, Respectful, and Reasonable Consequences for Misbehavior Read more on FamilyEducation: Provide Related, Respectful, and Reasonable Consequences for Misbehavio Read more on FamilyEducation
• Empowering Parents: Parenting Strategies/techniques: Accountability And Responsibility: Article
• KidsHealth: Parents: Positive Parenting: Family Life: Nine Steps to More Effective Parenting