How to Peacefully Introduce Chores to Children

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Why are chores important for your child to do?

Do your children have chores to do around your home? Are you looking for ways to introduce chores to your child in a peaceful way?

As parents, we want to teach our children the value of hard work. This will help them develop a work ethic that can be beneficial to them as adults.

But how do you peacefully introduce chores to children who like to dig their heels in?

There are many different ways to implement chores into your family and daily routine for your children. This is simply the way we have chosen to do it for our children.

What chores to introduce?

You may be wondering what chores to introduce to your children. What age is appropriate for your child to start handling chores?

I am no expert. But do you know who is an expert?

You. You are an expert on your own child. And you know what they can handle and what they can’t handle. You also know what chores need to be done around your home.

A great way to start is to write down all the chores that you need to get done throughout the week.

Take a look at the ones that you wrote down. What are some that you believe your child is capable of handling?

Remember that when giving up these chores to your child, they won’t be done perfectly at first. There’s a chance you may have to help your child do these chores until they understand what needs to be done, or be okay with their version of the chore. For example, every morning my children have to make their beds. Their beds are never military perfect, but they are done and they are learning. That’s what is most important to me.

How can chores affect your household?

Assigning chores to your children can take the stress off of you as a mom.

It will also teach your children work-ethic and pride in what they own.

Expect some resistance at first.

If your child is not used to doing chores every day, expect them to resist a little bit at first.

This is normal. This is also one reason many people suggest introducing your child to chores early on as they grow. This way, they are used to doing them and are less likely to resist.

If your child is resisting, don’t lose heart and don’t give in. Continue pushing forward, remembering the bigger picture. We tell our children that because we ALL live in our home, it’s everyone’s responsibility to help take care of what we own.

5 Simple Ways To Introduce Chores Peacefully To Your Children

Create a chore chart to be used every day.

Write down all the chores you have to do daily and stick it where your child can see it. Simple enough right?

You can find chore charts everywhere you look really, some for free on Pinterest or Google, you can create your own, or you can buy one.

A couple months ago I wrote down all the chores we needed to do every day, I included my own chores as well. Then I assigned my children days for each chore. I realized quickly that this was not working.

So instead of assigning days for each child and changing up the chores, I assigned each child their own chores they had to do every day. For example, it is our oldest child’s responsibility to unload the dishwasher every night after dinner.

This has worked better for our family. They have become familiar with the chores they are assigned and know what to expect every day.

Introduce this concept a few days before you implement it to all your children.

Before you start having your children do their chores, figure out a day to introduce the concept to your child.

Sit your children down in a family meeting and explain to them what a chore is, why it’s everyone’s responsibility to help take care of your home, and what chores your child will be doing.

If you are up for it, you can also allow your children to pick one or two chores that they would like to do. This may get your child excited about participating.

When you introduce chores to your child it may take a few days for your child to come to terms with this new concept.

This is why I suggest introducing this concept a few days before you actually start on the chores. It may be helpful to remind your child every day that in a couple of days we will be starting our chore chart. You may get less resistance this way.

Must-Do before Want-to.

As humans, if we all could just do whatever we want to every single day we would.

This may be one reason why your child will resist. The concept of chores does not sound appealing to them. They would rather watch television or play outside.

This can be the same for anything that seems like work to your child.

I have started telling my children recently when they started digging their heels in, we have to do the things we MUST do first, before we can do the things we WANT to. It’s not something we all love to do, but it’s something we have to learn as we grow. This concept of must-do before want-to will be beneficial to your child’s work ethic.

Remember you’ll probably have to remind your child.

This is where I had a difficult time.

I’m a type B personality, so it’s not always easy for me to remember that “oh I need to remind my children to do their chores.”

Because of this, I have set aside two certain times a day where every one of us does our chores together. The first time is in the morning before we start homeschool and our middle child goes off to public school. Sure is early, but we get a couple chores done for the day and we can forget about them. The second time is right after dinner.

This has made it easier for me to remember to remind my children if they forget to do their chores.

Be okay with reminding your child every day if you have to, especially at first.

After all, this is a new concept for them.

Praise your child.

Humans love to be praised. Your child is no different.

When you see that your child is making an effort to do their chores effectively, praise them.

Praise your child even if the chore is not done the way you would do it.

This will give your child more motivation to work hard and do what is expected of them with joy.

The Rewards of Introducing Chores To Your Child.

Is there a benefit to introducing chores to your child? In my opinion, there are many benefits! The two main ones that I always look to when I’m feeling burnt out with keeping up with chores are these. First, your child is learning work ethic and that life is not all about what they want. They are learning to take care of the items they own and to be respectful of another person’s property.

Second, teaching your child to do chores will take some stress off of you as a mom. You will stop feeling like you have to do it all because everyone in your household will be contributing. It’s a win-win!

Related: 14 Best Tips To Overcome Angry Mommy Today

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