How to teach a child to household duties

Let's talk about the household duties of children. This topic is ambiguous, because there are always both opponents and supporters of involving children in doing housework. The argument of the first is that it is not necessary to distract children from their main tasks (study and development). Secondly, parents need help, and the experience gained while performing household duties will be useful in later life. The truth, as always, is in the middle.

Housework should be feasible and enjoyable, but at the same time regular and tangible in terms of benefits for the family. How to keep this balance, when to start involving a child in helping adults and why to do it at all — read below. The benefits of home work: 5 arguments 

If you still doubt that homework is useful for a child, then here are 5 convincing arguments for you:

1. Independence and organization. Housework helps to develop these useful qualities: if a child knows that after the game it is necessary to collect toys in a box, he will never leave the room in a mess and will finish the game taking into account the time for cleaning.

The skills of planning your actions and responsibility for the result will help in your studies, further development, and sports.Also read: What to do if a child does not want to learn lessons: advice from a psychologist2. A useful foundation for the future.

 Children under 7 years of age have behavioral models based on which their personality will be formed.

What the child learns at this time will remain with him for the rest of his life. And if at preschool age you instill a love of work, a desire to help loved ones, then later these qualities will develop into the most noble characteristics of a person.

Do you want to learn how to form qualities in a child that will help to become a successful and happy adult?  Then register - at Dmitry Karpachev's transplant-free online master class "What every parent should know". 3. Communication with loved ones.

 Doing something around the house together is much more interesting than lying alone on the couch with the phone.

Modern parents are not always able to devote enough time to children, and doing homework is an occasion to combine business with pleasure.

4. Intellectual development. Even such banal activities as cleaning toys or taking out garbage can become exciting quests, entertain a child and make him connect logic, imagination.

Set tasks with creativity: "Bat-winged monsters have arranged a hunt for your toys. You have 10 minutes to remove them. But not just to remove, but to hide away the tidbits — the details of the designer. They need to be put in boxes. Go ahead!".

5. A reason for praise. Praising a child is not just necessary, but extremely necessary!

This is how parents help strengthen self-esteem, create the right motivation and faith in success. Housework is the easiest and most affordable way to get the approval of loved ones. Cleaned the room or washed the dishes — what's not a reason to praise a clever girl?

The most important argumentPreparing for an independent life is the main reason why it is necessary to instill in children the skills of helping with household chores.

Time is running very fast, even today your student is too lazy to wash his shoes, and tomorrow the student comes to couples in a sloppy way. And gets ridicule from others. 

You will not be able to always be there to cook breakfast for your child or iron a shirt. Sooner or later he will be forced to do it himself. But you certainly don't know when that moment will come. Someone lives with their parents until the age of 25, and someone flies out of the family nest at 16… 

The only thing you know is the inevitability of your child's household duties. And the sooner he learns this, the more familiar the transition to an independent life will be for him. 

The Indesit StudyIn 2019, the company Indesit commissioned a survey in three countries — Russia, France and the UK — on the topic of children's participation in the household.

As it turned out, children do part of the housework equal to 7% of the total tasks. They are attracted to these duties from the age of 7-8 and begin with cleaning toys, maintaining order in their room and making the bed in the morning. 

A significant difference between the countries was shown by the question of the motivation of children to help around the house. In Russia and France, a large share is taken by personal example, but in the UK — material encouragement. 

An interesting result was brought by questions about who taught adults to do housework — 58% answered that it was their parents. At the same time, 70% of respondents are grateful to the parents of their spouses for having prepared them well for family life in part of the household.Also read: Do I need to pay my child for grades or help around the houseAt what age do children start helping around the house

The question is very individual.

The answer is influenced by the following factors:psychological readiness of the child to fulfill orders / requests of parents;

• features of the character, temperament of the baby;
• the presence of younger children in the family.

The age of psychological readiness for domestic work starts from 3 years. It is during this period that the child begins to feel the boundaries of his own "I" and takes the first steps towards independence. And the best encouragement for him is to give him a task that he will successfully cope with. 

A restless egoza will listen to the requests of parents worse than a quiet, diligent child. He will be happy to put the books on the shelf or even wipe the dust off them, whereas it's just right to tie a broom to the fidget — and let him run around the apartment, cleaning the floor. Therefore, select tasks for your temperament. 

If there are younger children in the family, then instead of doing housework, you can attract older ones to help with care: fold diapers, bring a bottle, put on a bib. 

Find out how to choose the right method of education for your child and in accordance with his age - at Dmitry Karpachev's transplant-free online master class "What every parent should know".Right now, click on the "Register" button and get a gift.

Types of household chores for children of different ages: approximate schedule

3-4 years  

put the toys in the box;

• put your clothes in the closet;
• pour food to the cat.

5-7 years old                                                                

• maintain order in the nursery;
• put the laundry in the closet;
• wipe dust from accessible surfaces.

8-11 years old                                                         

• change the bed linen;
• watering the flowerpots;
• take out the trash.

12-16 years old                                 

• go to the store for shopping;
• washing dishes, vacuuming;
• load/unload the washing machine.

How to interest a child in household choresIf a child categorically refuses to help around the house, it means that his parents have improperly organized the process of getting used to work:

• We started too early and set difficult tasks. The household duties of a 10-12-year-old child and a preschooler are very different, so you need to start gradually, do not force them to do what they cannot do.
• Scolded for mistakes. The child was washing dishes and broke a cup, for which he received a reprimand from his mother. And absolutely in vain, because he tried, just because of his age and undeveloped coordination of movements, he could not hold a slippery cup in his hands. 
• They didn't give me a chance to rest. Today, children are already loaded with lessons, circles, sections. If there is a free hour in the evening, then you just want to relax, and not run around the apartment with a vacuum cleaner. It is better to postpone housework for the weekend.
• They stopped the help. Mom snatches the shirt from the child and says irritably: "Let me fold it myself, you can't do it." After such words, the motivation to do anything disappears.

Distribution of household chores in the form of a gameMake a table with a list of necessary household chores.

Assign each family member a different color and decorate the cells with this color with the tasks that he must perform. Put down the days of the week, and also leave the box for ticks "completed". Did the job — put a check mark. 

After a week, analyze the table. Whoever has completed all the assigned tasks receives a gift. Who has not done enough — has the opportunity to improve on the weekend. Well, those who "skipped" get punished — on the first day of the next week to do all their chores instead of home. 

A child is unlikely to want to cook dinner instead of mom or fix an iron instead of dad, so he will certainly try to fulfill all his duties on time. 

What else will help to attract children to household duties:to notice and recognize the contribution of the child to the management of the household;

• praise him for his efforts;
• help to complete a task if it turned out to be too difficult;
• sometimes to remind that the child has to do something, but without reproaches;
• approach the distribution of cases with a positive attitude, in the form of a game, a quest;
• to show that parents need help.

________

The work skills acquired by a child while doing housework have several levels of value. At the top — the ability to service their needs. On average — independence and organization. And at the deep level — the ability to make efforts to get the desired result. Cultivate a love of housework in children, so that later they will pleasantly surprise you with their achievements!