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Homemaking School for Children
by Monica Resinger
With it being summer
vacation for the kids, a lot of us may be experiencing a messier house
than usual. A solution to this would be to give the kids daily chores or,
what I like to call it, homemaking school. Homemaking school will not
only help the house stay tidier, but will also give your kids valuable
lessons in housecleaning and responsibility that they need now and later
in life.
As I was growing up, I didn't have many chores. All that was
expected of me was to do the dishes after dinner and keep my room clean
(which I barely did). Later when I got my own place, I discovered a few
problems as a result of not learning how to do certain household
tasks.
One of these problems was lack of organization. In my parent’s
home as I was growing up, most everything was kept for later use or for
sentimental value. Since I grew up this way, this is how I ran my
household; I didn't know any other way. I found out after a period of
time that this was not going to work for me. My tiny apartment wasn't as
big as mom and dad's house and it wasn't long until my place was bulging
with too much stuff. It has taken me years to train myself to be more
organized and the job is even more challenging with children and husband.
I'm still ‘in training' and still not that organized, but there has been a
lot of improvement. The point is that if we can begin training our children
early, they can have an easier time when they get out on their
own.
Organizing was only part of my housekeeping problems. There were
many other things I didn't know how to do correctly that I had to teach
myself. Home magazines were my partner through this and they helped me
tremendously. I don't blame my mom and dad because they were doing their
best at that time,
and besides, I've learned a valuable lesson from it
and that is to be sure to teach my kids how to do this stuff.
The
most effective way for me to get my chores completed is to schedule or list
them. This is probably the best way for the kids to get their chores done
also. There are a couple of ways you can do this, but the first step is
to figure out what you want each child to do.
To do this, think
of age-appropriate jobs. You don't want to give a job that's too
difficult to your child because this will end up in disagreements and won‘t
be worth it in the long run. You may even feel your child is too young
for chores yet and that's perfectly fine, it's up to you when they
start. If you feel they are ready, start thinking of what type of jobs
around the house they could manage. The way I do this is to look at
my own chore schedule and try to imagine my kids doing each chore. If I
can't imagine it, they probably aren't ready for it yet.
Younger children
are perfect candidates for dusting and wiping. They can wipe lower
kitchen cabinets or dust low bookshelves. They can pick up stray items from
rooms if shown where to put the items away; after a while, they will learn
where everything goes. If they don't do it perfectly at first, let it go,
they will get better as time goes on. The important thing is that they
are learning to keep house and help mom keep it clean.
Older
children can do dishes after dinner and pick up the dinner mess. They can
dust the higher stuff. Mopping floors, disinfecting the toilet, sweeping
porches, vacuuming, cooking they can do most everything you can if shown
how.
Once you have decided what you want your children to do as chores,
you can make up a chore schedule or list either by hand or on the computer.
You can make it as a table with days of the week going across the top and
the chores listed down the page. It could be just a simple list hanging on
your refrigerator by a magnet. Or, you could make a fancy, colorful list
from a computer program that can be hung in a frame. The list can be
laminated so it can be used over and over. One final idea is to get a dry
erase board or chalkboard and write chores on these. The important thing is
to get it written down. This will serve as a reminder to you and the
kids.
Once you have established which chores each child will be doing,
it's important to show them the correct way to do each task. It may take
a few times of showing them, but they will get it right eventually, so don't
give up.
If you'd like you can pay them. Some people feel children
shouldn't be paid for chores because children should learn they are part
of the household and it‘s their responsibility to help out. Some people
feel it's fine to pay children for the work they do. One important note
here is if you decide to pay them, be sure they know they won't get paid for
EVERYTHING you ask them to do. They do need to know that they are part of
the household and they need to do their part. Paying children for chores
is up to the family and based on their particular values, don't let
someone else decide this for you. How much you pay them is also up to
you.
Remember, chores are really life lessons for our children. Think
of it as homemaking school.
Copyright ©, 2000, Monica
Resinger
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About the Author:
Monica Resinger is a loving wife and doting
mother of two who enjoys gardening, tap dancing and most importantly,
homemaking. She edits and publishes the free e-zine, The Homemaker's Journal
that features a useful homemaking tip and scrumptious recipe of the day; if
you'd like to subscribe, just send a blank e-mail to:
HomemakersJournal-subscribe@yahoogroups.com |
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