January 22, 2017
I asked my grade threes the other day if they did any chores. Guess what? Fewer than half of the kids said they did any regular chores. I told them when I was a kid, 100 years ago, everyone had chores; at least, the children I knew did. I had a list to do every week and I knew it was a contribution to the running of our home. Did I like it? NO!!! But I did it. What I didn’t know at that time was my parents were instilling in me a deep sense of contribution, competency, maturity, and the awareness of others’ needs. Is it sometimes easier as a parent to just do the job yourself? Of course it is. Who wants to hear, whining, excuses, and resistance? If you can hold in your mind, that in the long run you are doing a SERVICE, to your children by having regular chores, you may find the whole exercise much easier. Research indicates that children who have a set of chores have higher self-esteem, are more responsible, are better able to deal with frustration, and can delay gratification. They are building GRIT. Wow! That is a full line up […]