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Children Need this ResponsibilityFeb 10 '00 Write an essay on this topic.I am a firm believer that children need to be taught responsibility and what better way than to have them responsible for certain chores around the house. I have two children, ages 10 (will be 11 in a couple weeks), and 8. They have been doing chores since they were old enough to understand. My husband and I had them start out by picking up their toys when they were just toddlers. If they pulled a toy out, they had to put it away. This showed them they were responsible for their own toys. When they moved from the crib to a toddler bed, they were responsible for making the bed every morning. It did not have to be perfect, just pull the covers up over the pillow, but it was a start. I am so glad we did this, we never have to fuss at them to make their beds, it has just become habit to get up and make the bed. As they have gotten older, we have added chores, and started giving them an allowance. They are responsible for setting the table, doing dishes, feeding the dog and picking up after him, making lunches, keeping their rooms and bathrooms clean. We have chore charts made up and we alternate chores weekly. Again, I do not expect any of it to be perfect, but they know what is acceptable and what is not. They have to have all their chores for the day done by 7:00pm, so that they also learn time management. If the chores are all done by 7:00pm and acceptable, they earn what we call "Stay Up Time". For every evening that they get a check mark, they get to stay up 15 extra minutes on Friday and Saturday nights. They also earn "Stay Up Time", for any thing they do that we didn't have to ask them to do. Such as sweeping the driveway, raking leaves, vacuuming, dusting, being really good while we are shopping, etc. This seems to work really well for them. We tried making them pay back a nickel from their allowance for every chore not done, but this didn't faze them. They didn't care if they had to give up their whole allowance. We give allowances, not so much for doing their chores, but to make them learn how to handle money. They only get $2.00 a week. We have taught them the importance of saving their money and not just buying everything they see and want. A couple years ago, they wanted a Sony Playstation, but my husband and I were not thrilled with the idea of them having one. Afraid they would turn into video game zoombies, so we told them that if they could save enough money to pay over half of it, we would match it so they could buy it. It was $129, so they had to get at least $70 between the two of them. It took them over a year and a half, but they put all their allowance, birthday money, and any extra money they earned away and were able to buy it. That proved to us that they really wanted it and were willing to sacrifice for it. They are the first to tell their friends how they were able to buy it. I don't think we will add much more to their chore list as they get older. I want them to be able to do something just because they thought it would be a help to the family, and because they still need to be kids. They need that time to go play and have fun. I think my husband and I have found a nice medium for them, we are able to teach them responsibility and they are allowed to be kids.  |
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