Chores prepare your kids for future careers
Are you tired of fighting to get your kids to clean up their bedrooms and mow the lawn? Does it often seem like it would take less time and be less effort to just do those chores yourself?
STOP. Do not let your kids weasel out of these tasks.
Chores do more than just make our life easier as a parent. They provide important building blocks to prepare our child for future careers. Your kid may or may not grow up to clean houses, mow lawns, or scoop dog poop but no matter what career field they choose they will learn important life fundamentals with these traditional chores.
- Deadlines. When giving a chore to your kid, make sure there is a clear deadline. Do not constantly bug them to find out if they are going to be done on time. They will learn time management and project prioritization by learning to finish their chores before the deadline.
- Schedules. For repetitive chores, choose a consistant repeating time frame. For example, the car needs washed once a week or the dishwasher needs emptied and loaded after dinner every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Your kids will learn to plan their commitments around their mandatory chores schedule.
- Working independentally. One of the biggest complaints that I have heard from managers is employees that constantly ask questions about what they need to do next. When you assign chores, explain the task and allow them to figure out exactly the best way to handle it. Maybe they will discover a new way to optimize bath tub cleaning times. Maybe they will learn to make a good honest attempt before asking for help and with that attempt figure out exactly which questions to ask. Either way, they will be better prepared for handling projects with less assistance in the work place.
- Respect for authority. Let your kids discuss different ways to handle their projects and manage their time frame when possible. Every once in a while a chore must get done a certain way and before a certain time. Put your foot down and enforce those decisions. Your child will learn when to speak their mind and when to just get the work done. Their future bosses will thank you for it.
- Reward. Rewards can vary from money to being allowed to stay up late to getting to pick the movie for movie night. You do not go to work everyday without expecting some kind of reward. If your kids are good about taking care of their chores, they deserve something which will help reinforce the positive side of working.
I’m not saying to run a sweat shop with chores to keep them constantly occupied so you can prop your feet on the couch and watch Grey’s Anatomy. A few consistant chores and a few special occasion chores should be enough to start preparing your kids for their future careers.
Tags: Career, chores, deadlines, kidsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Preparing Kids For Careers
5 opinions for Chores prepare your kids for future careers
mdmhvonpa
Oct 31, 2006 at 7:28 am
Hey now, what is wrong with a child labor powered sweat shop! That aside, when would you start this. Our little Tyrants are just past 4 now and we are desperately trying to get them to tote that barge and heft that bale with mixed results.
mike
Oct 31, 2006 at 7:48 am
Ours our about to turn 4 in November so I am not exactly an expert in when to start organized labor. We have good success getting them to do things like help wash the windows and vacuum for some reason. Cleaning up toys is hit and miss, but last night we decided that we are going to try and work on that more aggressively. At the little tyrant age, it is probably best to have them help you with chores you are doing and every once in a while send them off to a different room to complete part of the task, such as put a toy in the kitchen back in the toy box in the basement. The one chore that they pretty much do by themselves at this point is clear the table after dinner.
Our your little Tyrants twins?
mdmhvonpa
Oct 31, 2006 at 4:43 pm
Yep … twins. They each have a share of the tools required for total world domination at this point. Jake is the sweetie politician, Alexis is the calculating schemer. Wonder twins indeed.
mike
Oct 31, 2006 at 8:58 pm
Cool. We have a lot in common.
But, you probably write better than me. I just read my previous comment and realized that I was a couple months off on their birthday. Their birthday is at the end of January, not November.
My wife and I were talking tonight about getting the kids started on chores. I think we decided to start with making their beds and and cleaning their room once a day. They don’t spend much time awake in their so it shouldn’t take too long to clean.
Our son has autism. One of the things that we are learning really helps him is to have a homemade book with a picture on each page that shows the next step in whatever we are working on. The only one we have right now is for the bedtime routine, but we are going to make another for the new chores.
Karen
Nov 8, 2006 at 1:19 pm
I totally agree with kids having responsibilities and chores around the house. I think they should be taught that they need to contribute to their home and made to feel a part of everyone working together to live. I certainly don’t think parents should be doing everything for the kids. Goodness, I’ve taught enough kids like that. I’ve had some that could hardly use the bathroom by themselves!!!! We started teaching our children at a young age with just simple things like picking up their food off the floor and picking up toys. Now I let my 3 year old help load the dryer and fold towels. Yes, it is aggravating, but it’s worth the effort.
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