Responsibilities are important. Children need parents to guide them on how to be responsible as this is a skill that needs to be taught.
Teaching children about how they can be responsible and contribute positively to their household can be daunting at the early stages.
Parents can navigate this aspect of parenting with a few strategies to help ease children to take on tasks.
Raising responsible children can be a step-by-step process that changes according to the child’s age. Children will learn different life skills as they grow more capable and independent.
Let’s explore the responsibilities and ways parents can teach children to be accountable.
12 Responsibilities To Entrust To Your Children
When a child is keen to learn independence, giving them tasks to complete can help develop a sense of self-reliance.
Empowering a child through responsibility builds their confidence and character.
Here are 12 responsibilities that parents can introduce to their children.
Clean Their Mess
Encourage the child to clean their toys once they are done playing.
This is a small start towards letting them learn how to be responsible for their things and the environment they live in.
Food Choices
Children are notoriously picky eaters so sometimes it can be good to leave the choice of what they want to eat up to them.
Parents can allow this within reason and it can help to make suggestions to improve the child’s choices to healthy.
Play Dates
Arranging play dates can be fun for parents, especially when it can provide some free time when the child is occupied.
But sometimes the child might not want to have a play date. It’s good to ask their opinion if they would like a play date before arranging for one.
This can provide the child with the confidence that the parent cares about how they are feeling.
How Much To Eat
Sometimes parents aren’t entirely sure about how much a child wants to eat on certain days.
Allow the child to voice out if they aren’t feeling up to eating a normal portion or if they want extras.
This should be practised within reason as the child shouldn’t eat less or too much. Please seek medical help if you feel your child hasn’t been eating well.
Choosing Clothes
At a certain age when the child shows interest in picking their clothes, parents can allow them to do so within reason.
Parents need can step in if the choices are not suitable or unsafe. This helps with the child’s self-expression and creativity.
Meal Prep
Parents can let children help with meal prep that doesn’t feature any sharp or dangerous objects.
This activity can help the child to get interested in cooking and the parent gets a pair of extra hands to clean up the space.
Decorating Their Room Or Space
Allow the child to decorate their room or play space with artwork, lights or plants.
It’s good for them to develop their creativity and this can make their space feel more comfortable.
Car Washing
Washing a car is fun due to all the water involved and children are usually happy to help with this task. Make this a once-a-week activity over the weekend so the child can get some exercise outdoors with a parent while helping to clean the car.
Clearing The Dinner Table
Children can help their parents each night by helping to clear the dinner table together as a family.
This activity can strengthen family bonds and teach the children to do light chores that might be fun.
Babysitting
If the child or tween has younger siblings, babysitting with another adult around is a good way to teach responsibility.
Caring for another young child isn’t easy but it provides good lessons for the older child to learn. It can also help the sibling relationship to improve.
Completing Homework
Children should take on the task of completing their homework by the end of the day.
If they require help, parents should set a rule that assistance should be asked early in the day.
Children should not rely on parents to complete their homework for them and it’s best if parents allow them to try to work it out on their own at first.
Organising
Helping parents to organise groceries or arrange their books or toys is a good way to teach tidiness.
Organising things can also teach the child to put things back where they belong because they understand it takes effort to keep things tidy.
10 Ways Parents Can Raise Responsible Children
Parents should be strategic when trying to teach their children to take on responsibility. Contributing to household chores and taking care of themselves in small ways are achievements that the child and parent should celebrate. Here are 10 ways to help children learn about responsibility positively.
Give Choices
Provide choices when presenting tasks to a child, this can help them think they have some control over their lives.
Having a sense of control helps them to develop their independence. The end goal is for the child to choose one task so they can learn some responsibility.
Volunteer
Including children during volunteer efforts to help out the community is a good way to teach selflessness and responsibility.
This sort of activity can help the child to be grateful for what they have and be responsible to care enough for themselves and their family.
It’s also good to teach the child to do good deeds for others when possible.
Praise Efforts
Praising efforts instead of results is a good way to encourage the child at the start of their journey of learning responsibility.
The child will feel good about themselves and empowered to continue trying even if they make mistakes.
Age-Appropriate
Parents need to choose age-appropriate responsibilities to give to their children.
This helps the parent to be fair to their children while being able to instil a sense of responsibility.
Children can be easily discouraged if they are unable to complete a task and will feel like they have disappointed their parents.
Role Model
Be role models who shoulder their responsibilities well to your children.
Children look up to their parents and imitate their behaviour. Parents can teach by practising what they teach and children learn by observing.
Let Them Practice
Allow children to practice or give them a learning curve when they are trying out new responsibilities. Be supportive and comforting if they fail or make a mistake.
This effort from parents can show positive effects in the long term on the child’s development.
Set Expectations
Parents need to clearly set their expectations when the child is given a task.
Children do not have the ability to assume the result of a given task.
So, it’s best if parents can give simple and clear instructions and expectations so the child can follow through.
Create House Rules
Establishing house rules creates a structure for the child to follow at home.
These house rules will teach responsibility in a daily routine.
House rules can help the child learn about time management and problem-solving.
Take Ownership
Parents should take accountability or ownership when something goes wrong.
When the child observes that their parent can apologise and make amends, they will learn that is all right to make mistakes and learn from them.
This can also help the child to be accountable for what they do, especially if it’s wrong.
Reinforce Rules
When there are set house rules about household chores, parents need to reinforce the rules to ensure consistency.
If the rules are not enforced, the child will not take the rules seriously.
Remember, rules are not meant to be flexible and should not be changed according to emotions.
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Teach Kids about Responsibility
Trusting children with responsibilities will help them to develop a sense of responsibility and essential life skills.
This can also help to instil a sense of independence and self-confidence. Parents must assign age-appropriate tasks to children and support them as they learn how to complete them.
Encouraging children to work on their responsibilities can also help to build character and improve their overall growth and child development.
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