Giving your children regular work assignments not only contributes to your clean house. It teaches responsibility and prepares them to have and run their own home someday.
Merrilee Browne Boyack suggests that being clear about your expectations for the chore is better than giving general commands like, “Go clean the bathroom.” Instead, write down specifically what you want completed for that chore. For example, inside the bathroom cupboard you could have a 3x5” card that reads, “Wipe down the counters, clean the toilet, clean the mirror, pick up the floor.” A parent may have to supervise the child doing the chore a few times before the child can do the chore well on their own.
Just as you need to be clear about your expectations for the chore you need to be clear about when the chore should be finished. “Do it Saturday,” is much less clear than, “Have it finished by noon, or else.” Merrilee suggests the “ore else” can be something like a loss of privileges or her favorite, “penalty chores.” She says for penalty chores she chooses chores she hates doing herself.
 | Read more advice from Merrilee Browne Boyack in her entertaining and instructive book, The Parenting Breakthrough. Fun and practical, author Merrilee Boyack has readers laughing out loud as well as feeling grateful for her parenting advice. She's a mom who's spent the last 22 years in the real-life work of parenting. “I have four sons, 13, 15, 17 and 22. You know what that means,” she writes. “I'm an absolute expert in raising children 23 and older.” Merrilee offers the “Parenting Breakthrough” for training kids — from toddlers to teens — to be independent. It includes ideas for how to teach kids about money, investing, debt, and the importance of earning their own money; how to help children with emotional and spiritual development; and much more. |
No comments:
Post a Comment