Helping Your Child Learn Responsible Behavior - continued

Helping Out

Our children need to learn that as they get older and can contribute more, more will be expected of them.

What to do

1. As your child matures, consider additional ways your child can contribute to the household.
2. Discuss the new duties with your child. Avoid describing them in ways that seem like a punishment. Instead, you can imply that they require a new level of ability, which your child now possesses.
3. With younger children, it helps sometimes if you do the chores together and talk or make it fun. But don't do your child's work!
4. If possible, new tasks should stretch a child's abilities and encourage satisfaction in good work. Praise something done well, especially a new challenge.

Doing chores is a useful way to learn persistence and to learn that when we live up to our responsibilities we enable others to trust and rely on us.