How to Motivate Your Kids to Do Their Chores

As it turns out in a recently released statistic on The Wall Street Journal, kids between the age of 6 and 12 years only spend 24 minutes a day on housework, which involves cleaning, laundry and something as simple as doing the dishes or participate in preparing family meals.

Most parents would probably claim that their children do a lot of chores around the house, but truth is most of them don’t even have any chores, and as a result might not develop a healthy work moral, as they grow older.

As a parent, you probably want your kids to do more chores around the house, but how do you make them without feeling like a boss or a mean dictator? Find the answers in this handy little guide.

Learning the Basics First

Motivating your kids to do the chores starts with you and your approach. These tips are valuable while handing your kids of any age new chores, and they also serve as general guidelines for bringing up happy kids:

-       Work together as a team. Don’t just lay down and relax, while expecting your kids to do the chores by themselves.

-       Expect your kids to help, rather than explaining them why they should help. Your kids need to understand that their help is actually needed, and it doesn’t necessarily have to involve a discussion on why they need to do it.

-       Be thankful. Let your kids know that their efforts are appreciated, by acknowledging them. Every human being likes feeling appreciated, but you shouldn’t overdo it. A simple smile and a “thank you, sweetie” is usually enough, especially if it’s for a small daily task.

-       Never reward them for doing their chores. Kids need to know that doing the chores is an essential part of life, and not a thing you get paid to do. There are plenty of other things they can be rewarded for, like earning good grades or doing something charitable.

You should also have the right equipment, to make it easier for your kids to help out on a daily basis. 

You can find some of the best vacuum cleaners for efficiently cleaning the home on Reviuu.com, and some of the best kitchen equipment can be found on Potsandpansrater.com. Little kids in particular need proper equipment, to be able to help doing the chores.

From Toddlers to Preschoolers: Let Them Do What You Do

Small children are the easiest to motivate, because they’ll usually just copy you. As long as you keep their chores easy and short, they’ll end up having a lot of fun and remain motivated for their next chores.

This is also where you can learn your kids to feel compassionate towards their siblings or other family members, by teaching them to help others in need - e.g. if someone spills a cup of water, you can easily sculpt their minds to thinking “i can help”, rather than “it wasn’t me, so I don’t have to do it”.

 

Don’t Expect Too Much of Your Elementary Schooler

At this age, most kids are becoming increasingly self aware, which also makes it extremely important for you as a parent to be patient and acknowledge their efforts. Your kids will still love to help you out with everything, from preparing a meal to doing the dishes. 

It might take them five minutes to wipe the table or fold a few t-shirts, because they don’t have as much experience as you as an adult have. This is why you have to keep encouraging them and remain thankful for their help, as it will turn out beneficial later on. They will eventually get better and quicker at most things, which is also why it is crucial to make them feel great and confident while they pitch in.

Middle Schoolers Can Be Proactive

At this stage, your kids will become increasingly independent and want to do more things on their own. This is the perfect moment to teach your kids to seek new tasks, by encouraging them to actively ask what they can do, instead of just hanging around and wait for new tasks to be handed out.

Eventually, this will learn your kids to actively seek new tasks, and help out around the house where it’s needed, instead of you always having to tell them what to do, and when to do it.

Later on, this kind of work ethic will come in handy in many different aspects of life.

Give Your High Schoolers Control of Large Projects

When kids become teenagers, they are usually perfectly able to do the exact same chores as adults. For that sole reason, it is extremely important that you let your teenagers be responsible for larger projects, like painting their own room or mowing the lawn. Among many things, these are very important life skills, and this is your chance as a parent to pass on knowledge that your kids otherwise might end up lacking in the future.

If you have more than one kid this age, this is also a great way of teaching them to work together, and letting them keep that special bond they grew up with.

Disclosure:  This is a contributed post.