Naturally Healthy Parenting The parent's guide to a healthy family
When you give your kids chores to do every week, and they’re compensated with an allowance, you’re not just exchanging money for labor. Your children are learning an entire array of life skills that you may not even realize will benefit them for a long time to come.
In the current era, more and more kids have received special treatment and aren’t learning the value of hard work. Parents may have the best intentions in mind by not expecting their kids to put some elbow grease into their daily lives, but they’re doing children a disservice.
Kids should be given a set of tasks to accomplish at least once a week. Here’s why.
They Learn the Importance of Contribution
Life at home with your family is simple and clear in comparison to their future role in the grand scheme of things. However, chores still help young people to realize that, in order to live in a community, they must contribute to the greater whole.
By expecting them to participate in chores and tasks which need to be performed to keep the household going, you’re preparing them for being active members of society as adults. Whether you have them wash the dishes, mow the lawn, or train the family dog, kids should have a role to fulfill in the household.
They Learn the Value of a Dollar
When kids have everything handed to them without having any effort on their part, they don’t appreciate the value of money. In contrast, when they see a certain amount of money is roughly equivalent to a certain amount of labor, they’re more likely to be careful about their spending.
People who have never had to work for their money tend to be much more careless with funds and bad about saving for the future.
It Empowers Them
When you give kids things to do, and they receive praise for doing it, this gives them a sense of accomplishment and empowerment. When your children know that they are expected to do something, and they get it done, they walk away from the task with a sense of pride.
It Gives Them a Sense of Belonging
Part of being in a community is having a role to play in it. When kids are given jobs to do for which they are responsible and no one else is, it gives them a role in their society. Even if society, in this case, is only a four-person household in the suburbs, it’s a taste of their future.
Rather than feeling guilty about expecting them to work, you should be proud that you’re giving them the tools that prepare them for greater purpose in life. Kids without purpose tend to experience behavioral issues and may even commit crimes later on.
