Most of the time parents let their kids be kids - allowing them to play all day as they enjoy doing and giving them no tasks as they are not yet capable to do them. These may be true, yet parents might be missing a great opportunity for learning and accountability.
You want your children to learn life skills they would be needing in the real world? Start them young in doing household chores, Bria Homes suggested.
Chores are simple everyday tasks to keep the household in place and running smoothly. It ranges from the easy ones to those that are quite difficult and dangerous for children to do. Thus, it is best to start the kids with those that are appropriate for their age and abilities.
The positive benefits of allowing kids to do chores outweighs the benefits of just giving them the entire day of play. Through these simple tasks, their sense of responsibility increases as they grow older and their self-esteem is boosted as they feel that their parents trust them enough to complete a task.
Reward Them
But what's better than allowing them to do household chores is rewarding them after completing the chores, especially that "kids will be kids" and they would want to play instead of do tasks they know that their parents can easily just do. Thus, parents need to implement a chores reward system to teach the importance of accountability and the beauty of obedience.
According to Very Well Family, a reward system is an effective approach to discipline and behavior modification, replacing a child's negative behavior into a positive one. Instead of choosing to discipline the child for his/her bad behavior, parents can present the reward system to their kids so that the latter themselves would choose to do their tasks with positive behaviors.
The reward system, along with positive reinforcements allow kids to intentionally change their behaviors and make better choices. Generally, when children receive rewards, compliments, encouragement or positive feedback for a task completed or a good choice done, they would "naturally gravitate"toward those positive actions and behaviors again instead of the negative ones.
Other benefits of the chores reward systems are:
1. Improve parent-child relationship
2. Encourage independence
3. Develop new skills
4. Decrease parent stress levels
5. Allow both parent and child to focus on the positive
Read Also: What Parents Should Be Teaching Kids About Money, According to a Dad and CEO
How to make a chore reward system effective
When creating a reward system, parents need to keep their kids' age in mind. It is never going to be effective if the expectations set on the children are not age-appropriate. Moreover, parents would not want to push something too big or too much at once, especially for the little ones.
It is also crucial that the rewards are not only things that the children want but also should be things the parents can be consistent in providing. Rewards should be attainable. Thus, it is important for parents to involve their kids in developing the reward system. Consider what the kids think of as a good reward, that is a good place for parents to start.
It is also important that the reward is something your child wants, something you can be consistent with, and contains an attainable goal. The best way to ensure that is the case is to involve your child in developing the reward system. Ask them what they consider a good reward and begin there.
"The identified reward has to be something that is meaningful to the child, and thus the child's engagement in developing the plan is important. It likely will not work if the parent identifies the reward without the child's input. Feedback on earning the reward should be immediate and specific. It is important for parents to follow through on outlined plans, and thus only agree to rewards that they are willing and able to provide," Cleveland Clinic Children's pediatric psychologist Kate Eshleman, PsyD, explained.
Moreover, parents need to ensure that their children understand the reward system and how it works. Give them a good understanding of what they need to expect as this can be of great help for them to progress toward the goal. Make sure your child has a good understanding of what is expected and how the reward is achieved so they can understand their progress toward the goal.
Here are other tips for success when setting up an effective rewards system, as suggested by Brittany Schaffner, a crisis education supervisor for the Behavioral Health Pavilion at Nationwide Children's Hospital, to parents.
1. Start with one chore first, so parents need to identify which chore they would want their kids to learn.
2. Be patient as the kids are learning new skills.
3. Provide clear direction and guidance.
4. Offer specific praise and do it often.
Related Article: Can Homework Ever Be Fun? 3 Tips For Making Homework Time More Fun For Your Kids
Free Reward Chart Printable
To make it easier for you to track the progress of your kids in terms of their assigned tasks and chores, we made a free printable for you! Just download the file below, print it and place it on the wall or anywhere that you and the kids can see.
Make sure to think of a reward that they really like so they'll be motivated to work hard in order to get it.
