AD | Collaborative post
Children don’t tend to enjoy doing chores, but as well as giving you a helping hand, chores are actually important for their overall development. I have teamed up with a boys’ school in Hertfordshire to explore why chores are important for children.
Chores Help Children Learn Key Skills
By the time our children grow up and leave home, they need to learn how to take care of themselves. They should know how to cook various meals, wash and iron their clothes, remove stains after a spillage, fix a leaking toilet, and a whole host of other tasks. Getting your child involved with these household chores from a young age allows them to develop these skills and gives them a sense of independence and self-reliance. After all, you don’t want them to move out and be completely clueless!
Chores Help Children with Planning & Time Management
If your child has various responsibilities to fulfil each day, they will start to become better at planning ahead and managing their time. They will figure out how they can juggle their schedule to complete their chores and still have time for leisure activities.
Chores Promote Teamwork
Being part of a family means being part of a team and you all need to help one another to create a harmonious environment. Giving your child some chores will teach them that you are not their slave and supporting one another with the more tedious tasks frees up more time for everyone to enjoy themselves.
Chores Encourage a Strong Work Ethic
Lazing in front of the TV hour after hour won’t get anything valuable done and won’t lead to success. Chores can help your child understand that hard work pays off, which is a positive attitude for them to adopt from a young age, as it carries over into other aspects of life.
Chores Give Children a Sense of Responsibility
Children need to understand accountability as there will be times when there isn’t someone around to help them carry out certain tasks. Have them take ownership of a particular job or specific area of the house so that they can understand responsibility. For instance, it could be their job to walk the dog every night after school or set the table each evening for dinner.
Chores Teach Children to Respect their Home
If your child can start to understand how much effort goes into keeping a home tidy, and ensuring its residents are well-fed and dressed in clean clothes, they might subconsciously start to become more respectful of their environment. They should also have more respect for you because they will start to appreciate how much you do for them every day.