One question that I often get is how do you involve your kids around the house. As a mom of 6, I’ve had practice doing this a few times now, and I wanted to give you my best tips to involve your kids around the house. And the ages we started at.
I like to be very practical, especially with these coffee chats. Let’s get into the nitty-gritty and really to the heart of what it means to be a homeschool mom and momtrepreneur.
This week we are chatting about getting your kids to help around the house. When my first litter was younger, it was hard trying to figure out how they can help around the house.
Involve Your Kids Around the House to Teach Important Life Skills
I knew that I needed help. But how do I give them things that they will do, be responsible for, that are age appropriate, and they won’t break anything.
It is important as moms working from home to set the expectation that our kids should have some responsibility. They live in the house, and they should contribute. It is teaching them the life skill that not everything is going to be brought to them or done for them.
Kids need to learn basic skills like unloading the dishwasher, doing the dishes, cooking dinner, cleaning the bathroom, and cleaning their rooms. But the most important life skill that underlies all of this is taking responsibility for themselves.
You need to start teaching them this.
Moms Are Control Freaks
Yep, we are. As busy moms, it is easier for us to just do it ourselves then to take the time to teach our kids. I’ve been there.
But there is a payoff. It may take some time, but I promise you won’t be following up with them for the rest of their lives.
Where and When to Start Involving Your Kids Around the House
Here’s what we did. Remember, these are just suggestions to get you started. You need to see what works for your family. It is just to give you an idea.
From the time they are toddlers, we started with clean up your toys and put them away. This is usually messy and never done perfectly. But it gets them into the habit of cleaning up after themselves, and teaching them to be responsible for their possessions. The best way to do this is to have a designated spot for the toys. So they are always returned to the place each time.
At six, we have them start making their beds in the morning. With the first litter, we gave them actual chores at 10, 8, and 6. We gave them a list and set a chore day. On the list were make the bed, fold their laundry, clean the bathroom (each kid has a specific item to clean), pick up playroom. This is where we started.
At thirteen, we added washing their own laundry. Although my daughter started doing her own at 10. She made the request.
At ten, we also had them start unloading the dishwasher. This was a hard one for me because the kitchen was always my space, and I didn’t want to share.
Around 12 and 14 the oldest boys started washing the dishes too. My fourth child just turned 10, so we will be adding him to the unloading dishes rotation.
At 14, my oldest started cooking more. They cooked some prior to this age. But at this time I had baby number 6. She was an extremely high needs baby and required a lot of my time. So I needed help. My oldest stepped up to help me out.
Conclusion: Involve Your Kids Around the House
It isn’t easy getting your kids to help around the house, especially at the beginning. It does require checking their work and having them fix their work.
A lot of parenting, no matter what you are doing, is simply being consistent with whatever you are doing. Whether you are being consistent with rules or expectations you have. It all comes down to being consistent.
With their chores, we set the expectation and then we showed them how to meet it. Then we followed up on it.
Create a list, have clear expectations for them, and follow through on it.
0 Comments