Aren’t we all glad that we grew up doing those annoying chores as kids? If we hadn’t done them back then, how much would you want to bet that we would become spoiled and obnoxious adults today? At least we know how to clean and take out the trash now. And wash the dishes, even though that is literally the most annoying chores of all.
Being given chores as a kid is a great start to teach your kids responsibility without really shoving them into it head on. It will annoy them, yes. You’re going to hear some grumbles and look at some pouty glares, that too. But take solace in the fact that after a decade or more, they’re going to be capable of taking care of themselves when they finally leave you.
The chores also keep them involved in the family. With the technology and internet the way it is nowadays, kids tend to just lock themselves in their room or just huddle in the corner of the room to do whatever it is that they do. Have you noticed that they even get seriously annoyed when you interrupt them and ask them to do something for you? And even if they don’t complain, they take such a long time doing the chore because it’s always “in a sec, mum” or “I’ll get to it later, dad”.
We need to stop that. They need to be more physically active, even if it’s just chores.
Kids and Chores
The sad thing about these gadgets we give our kids is that we can’t really take them away anymore to teach them a lesson of some sort. They’re very important now, even to ourselves. It’s an object of communication and if you try to confiscate your kids’ phones temporarily, it’s going to cause a serious meltdown and chores will NEVER be done. The best thing we can do is be creative with how we tell them to do the chores. Whether you give them rewards for washing the dishes or something, or maybe even blackmail them playfully, it’s up to you. You could tell your son or daughter that you would give them something if they complete a set of chores and routinely do them every week at least, or (my personal favourite) take away all their chargers and basically quarantine them. Watch the desperateness in their eyes grow as the battery on their phones go down a bar at a time IF they skip out on their chores. The latter is especially funny and you get to see how your kid gets creative just to get his or her phone charged. They might even do the chores extremely quick just for their chargers back. That, or you monitor the charging so they can’t hide the chargers after you give them back.
