In every household, there’s plenty of work to be done. Stop doing all the work yourself.  Split work up between as many people as possible. If you have children, get your kids involved in household chores is a great way to teach them responsibility and split the workload among more people. Unfortunately, it’s often difficult to involve kids with household chores. Guess what this leads to? One person doing everything. 

Get your kids involved in household chores

To overcome this barrier, a few helpful tips for getting your kids excited about household chores.

Start Young

Good habits, such as doing chores around the house, don’t happen magically or overnight. It’s important to involve your children in household chores as soon as possible. Though a two-year-old may not be able to do the dishes or vacuum, they can help clean their room, collect the trash, and do other simple tasks that will teach them the value of hard work and helping around the home. As children get older, involve them in other chores that help maintain the house, like washing windows and shutters and mowing the lawn.

Model Behavior

If you don’t do much around the house, your kids won’t, either. Let your kids see you working hard and cheerfully around the home so they know they’re not alone in their work. It’s also vital that you talk through what you’re doing as you’re doing it so your kids can learn how to do different tasks even before they’re old enough to do them.

Celebrate Success

While an allowance is certainly not a requirement when it comes to doing chores, money or other rewards do make for significant motivation. A little reward goes a long way when creating good work habits, even if it’s simply an encouraging word. If you choose monetary rewards, you have the added benefit of being able to teach them good money habits in addition to the benefits earned through teaching a strong work ethic.

Time-Limited

Just like adults, if kids aren’t given a set time for task completion, kids procrastinate. However, if you put time limits on your children’s tasks, the tasks are much more likely to get done quickly and completely. Therefore, when assigning your child a task, be clear both about what they need to do and how long they have to do it.

Better Over Time

Building a strong work ethic takes time. Therefore, it’s important to understand chore involvement as a process instead of a one-time task. With these tips implemented, you will be well on your way to building responsible kids who grow into responsible adults.

Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan