Getting Kids to Help at Home (Chores and More) – Judy Helm Wright

Greetings from a Mom and Gram who has been there, done that….and found a better way.

I have always loved learning and I have always loved teaching what I have learned. So, as I go about the country teaching and learning about family relationships I find that parents everywhere are struggling with some of the same conflict in their homes – too little time to spend together as a family and too much work to do around the house.

It is amazing to me that many of them have not realized that there is a single solution to both problems. We need to teach our kids to help at home. We’ll get the help we need while spending time together with those we love. And, believe it or not, chores can even be fun.

Many of us, myself included, think nothing of driving clear across town and paying a handsome sum to give our kids karate, ballet or piano lessons. We don’t mind sitting in the car waiting for them because we think our kids are benefiting from being there even though its doubtful that they’ll ever earn their black belts in karate or dance or play piano professionally.

This course and my workshop of the same name are designed not so much to help you achieve a clean house, as they are to help you get more cooperation from your kids. But surprisingly enough, getting more cooperation usually results in a cleaner house. I’ve found that if you approach the process by following the four A’s success is almost guaranteed.

Attitude: Have an attitude of adventure along with a cheerful and positive expectancy of mutual respect and a dogged determination to never give up.Make it fun to share the workload.

Aptitude: Teach your children the proper way to go about doing tasks.Also teach the correct tools, methods and techniques to make the work go faster.Don’t just teach the how and when, but also the why.Let them know why each task benefits the family and themselves.

Attention: Focus on your kids and their futures rather than concentrating on dirt in the corner.Instead, let a clean house be the by-product of the training sessions that will teach them to be self-sufficient.

Appreciation: Appreciate and acknowledge all successes of every family member.Success breeds confidence and confidence leads to healthy children with high self-esteem.

A wise man once said, “True unhappiness comes from giving up what you really want for what you want right now.” Always remember that your goal is greater than to get your kids to pick up their socks. When our kids would whine (oh yeah, they did) and say “help me, I can’t do this” My standard answer is “How about I help you to help yourself and then you will always know how to do it.”

Your goal as parents and caring adults is to teach life skills and values that will last your children a lifetime.

Good luck to you all!