How to Get Children to Help With the Chores

Depinitive GUIDE TOYS TO GETTING CHILDREN TO HELP WITH THE CHORES Getting children to help with the household chores does not need to be painful task. It can be made a lot easier with a few simple steps, everybody is able to contribute and benefit from the process. The Benepits for Children Hours Spent on Housework Per Week (On Average) A Teaching Life V Sense of Accomplishment V Appreciation A Family Bonding O Autonomy Skills Responsibility V Team Work FATHERS 10 HOURS Discipline MOTHERS 18 HOURS Reasons Children Say They Dislike Chores CHILDREN >3 HOURS 21 HOURS PER WEEK WATCHING TV 13 HOURS PER WEEK PLAYING VIDEO 47% 21% 15% 12% 5% GAMES Boring/ Menial Not my Friends don't do them Sibling doesn't do them responsibility Don't know how MOST SHOCKINGLY 54% OF 4-6 YEAR-OLDS who, when asked to choose between watching TV and spending time with their fathers, preferred television STRATEGIES FOR GETTING CHILDREN TO HELP OUT Make a Game Bp Jt Making a game of tidying up around the house can be fun, and it requires minimal effort or planning. Adding a competitive element can appeal to a lot of children, and dedicated smartphone apps are available for older children (You Rule Chores app) AC Examples How many toys can we put away? > How quickly can we tidy the bedroom? Singing a Clean Up Song A fun and repetitive clean up song can keep children smiling whilst helping with the chores. It is easy enough to make up a simple song, or alternatively, a quick Google / Youtube search will suffice. Examples > Tidy Up Song - Dave Moran > Clean Up - Miss Nina • Children's Clean Up Song - ForsakenAviltri Rewards Set the expectations clearly, and let the kids know how fantastic the reward is. If you have multiple kids, a team reward is usually preferred over individual rewards. Adding additional caveats help with older children to prevent moans! n good job! Examples >"We all go to the beach if we get the room tidied in 10 minutes" > "No Ice Cream at the beach if I hear anyone complaining" Timing It is almost impossible to keep cleaning fun for lengthy periods of time. 10 or 15 minutes maximum is recommended, done at a time when the kids have energy and are alert. Examples Early Evening for older children > Mid Morning for younger children Tools It is essential that children have tools which are suitable for them. There are dedicated websites selling for childrens tools, such as mops and brushes. Examples » Swap full sized broom for a dustpan and brush A range of example tools can be found on www. forsmallhands.com/cleaning-up/ Family Meetings Family Meeting Agenda Family meetings are a fantastic way of bringing everybody together and giving children in which chores they do, whilst also allowing them to see that chores are being divided up equally. Getting their "buy in" is essential, being dictated to removes any sense of autonomy. Chores for Beth O Chores for Simon O Rewards Examples > Regular timing for meetings is preference - 9am each Saturday morning Chore Chart Chores A list of chores, alongside childrens names (if you have more than one child) can be a great motivation- Beth Simon al tool. Each time a chore is completed, a sticker can be placed alongside that childs name and the chore they completed. This will also stop you from hearing, "I forgot" as an excuse! Made bed V// Put toys in box Examples • Regular timing for meetings is preference - 9am each Saturday morning Allowance/Pocket Money This works particularly well for older children, and can help in not only motivating them to do chores, but also introduce them to valuable financial con- cepts (value of money / saving up money etc). Examples > Allowance to be given after chores are done, weekly tends to work best. > If multiple children are involved, if one child is away, let the other complete their chores for additional pocket money. Make it Challenging As children get more and more familiar with specific chores, they quickly become boring. Make it more challenging, harder work and increase levels of responsibility to keep them motivated. Chores can be physically hard work! Examples Instead of just pulling weeds in the yard, give them a shovel or a wheelbarrow > Instead of vacuuming the bedroom, allow them to empty the Vacuum cleaner Vary Chores Cooking, walking the dog and helping with DIY can make a welcome change from the more traditional household chores. Mixing up the mundane with the more exciting will help with longer-term motivation, and also introduce children additional responsibilities and skills. Examples Bathing Pets • Changing filters (vacuum cleaner/air conditioning) Fitting shelves SOURCES http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/thinking-about-kids/201102/chores-are-good-kids http://www.parents.com/kids/development/social/motivate-kids-to-do-chores/ http://www.empoweringparents.com/How-to-Get-Kids-to-Do-Chores.php Parker, K. & Wang, W. (2013). Modem parenthood: Roles of moms and dads converge as they balance work and family. Pew Research Social and Demographic Trends. http://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Fami- lies/Facts_for_Families_Pages/Children_And_Wat_54.aspx BLS American Time Use Survey, A.C. Nielsen Co. PRESENTED BY terrysfabricS Transform your home for less"