Got chores? How about your children? My kiddos have daily chores beyond cleaning up after themselves (although that's expected too). We have a chore wheel that we rotate every Sunday. The chores include cleaning the kitchen, vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom, dusting and sweeping. Sometimes it amazes me at how long my children spend doing their chores - not that it's always done very well. Other days, they zip through their chores - and they are still not done very well. I look at chores as a teaching opportunity.
- Chores teach our children important life skills they are going to need in the future, because I'm not planning on following them to college to clean up after them!
- Chores teach our children responsibility. They need to understand that everyone does things they don't like because the things need to be done. Period.
- Chores teach our children the value of teamwork. If an entire family works together of cleaning the house instead of just Mom, the whole family has more time to do things together - with a happy mom even!
Occasionally, one of the kiddos will point out that one of their friends doesn't have as many chores as our family (sometimes their friends don't have any at all). My response is always the same, "How sad for them. How sad that their friend is missing out on all the wonderful things that come with chores. How sad that their friend is going to have such a hard time adjusting when they are adults."
I'm grateful for parents that gave me the gift of responsibility and independence. I hope my children will realize they have received the same gift when they are grown.
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