help around the house

We all want kids to help around the house. It’s a key part of being a family member. However, when kids are young often the jobs we give them are ones where they do a half job and we end up having to do a lot more work to fix it. Often, it would have been easier for us to do the task in the first place.

I have learned though of a great trick that helps younger kids to help around the house properly. When they do, it actually means you don’t have to do as much rework to fix what they started.

Here’s how to get younger kids to help around the house properly

  1. Tell your child what exactly it is that you would like them to do. For example, you would like them to set the table (I’m not going to cover off motivating them to do it in this post!)
  2. Now this is the really important step. Be clear exactly what “done” looks like. “Set the table” could mean anything in your young child’s eyes. You need to be super clear what it looks like for you and your family. “Set the table” could mean there are 4 placemats spread out on the table, there are 4 sets of knives and forks and 4 cups filled with water in the right spots on the table. Without this clarity, chances are you’ll end up with two place mats, 2 spoons and if you’re lucky a plate or a bowl
  3. For younger kids, a friend of mine draws out what “done” looks like for her kids. She has a big drawing on the fridge for what “set the table” means next to their chores chart. It has a picture with a placemat, a fork on the left of the placemat, a knife drawn to the right of it, and a picture of a cup of water at the top. She then has the number of people in her house next to it so her kids know how many times they need to set out what’s on the drawing.
If we’re not clear with kids what we want them to do then it’s hard for them to be able to follow through. Good luck!

 

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