Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Teaching Our Kids Responsibility
It's integral that we teach our kids to behave responsibly. One element of that includes good follow-through. When our kids receive gifts, we should encourage them to write thank-you notes themselves. By letting them pick out the card or by designing their own, they are thinking through who bought them each particular gift. If they are young, you may choose to write most of the thank-yous while letting them pick out a couple of special ones. This trains them to form the habit from an early age.
Another way of instilling responsibility in our children is by requiring our kids to clean up after themselves. When they dump out multiple bins of Legos, they make a huge mess. By making them pile the Legos back in at the end of the day, it shows them that they are accountable for doing their part. It will make them think twice about what kind of mess they make the following day. Is she really going to make all of those puzzles or is it worth it to just take out the one she'll actually use?
Holding our kids accountable is tough work. We want to jump in there and clean the mess up ourselves. It's quicker when we do it and more tidy. But, by letting our kids do it themselves, it will prepare them for the future. When your son moves in to his first apartment or college dorm, you won't be there to pick up his messes. The good habits you teach him now will follow him into adulthood. Once your son is married, his wife will be especially thankful.
The wise spending of money is something worth passing on to our kids as well. When my son recently got six dollars in a birthday card, we discussed how he could spend it. I told him that he could get six one-dollar items or that he could use the whole amount for one or two different gadgets. He decided that six one-dollar toys would be the best way to invest his money. He's learning how to be financially autonomous in a controlled environment.
Our kids also get to purchase a reasonably priced toy (in the $5-$10 range) at the completion of their chore charts, which takes anywhere from one to two months, depending on their levels of motivation. This teaches our kids a practical work ethic about getting rewarded if they choose to complete certain tasks. In the real world, if you go above and beyond, you frequently get a raise or a promotion as well.
There's no question that our kids should bask in the fantasy world of make-believe and play. Their main objective is to have fun and to eat tasty foods. However, it is smart as parents to throw in some real life lessons about responsibility along the way. We can even read them books that teach these life concepts, such as the Bible, or other religious or ethical texts. My family has enjoyed reading books about Abraham Lincoln, the Mayo Brothers, and Louis Pasteur. In all four of these men, our kids can observe how their perseverance and hard work paid off.
Another way of instilling responsibility in our children is by requiring our kids to clean up after themselves. When they dump out multiple bins of Legos, they make a huge mess. By making them pile the Legos back in at the end of the day, it shows them that they are accountable for doing their part. It will make them think twice about what kind of mess they make the following day. Is she really going to make all of those puzzles or is it worth it to just take out the one she'll actually use?
Holding our kids accountable is tough work. We want to jump in there and clean the mess up ourselves. It's quicker when we do it and more tidy. But, by letting our kids do it themselves, it will prepare them for the future. When your son moves in to his first apartment or college dorm, you won't be there to pick up his messes. The good habits you teach him now will follow him into adulthood. Once your son is married, his wife will be especially thankful.
The wise spending of money is something worth passing on to our kids as well. When my son recently got six dollars in a birthday card, we discussed how he could spend it. I told him that he could get six one-dollar items or that he could use the whole amount for one or two different gadgets. He decided that six one-dollar toys would be the best way to invest his money. He's learning how to be financially autonomous in a controlled environment.
Our kids also get to purchase a reasonably priced toy (in the $5-$10 range) at the completion of their chore charts, which takes anywhere from one to two months, depending on their levels of motivation. This teaches our kids a practical work ethic about getting rewarded if they choose to complete certain tasks. In the real world, if you go above and beyond, you frequently get a raise or a promotion as well.
There's no question that our kids should bask in the fantasy world of make-believe and play. Their main objective is to have fun and to eat tasty foods. However, it is smart as parents to throw in some real life lessons about responsibility along the way. We can even read them books that teach these life concepts, such as the Bible, or other religious or ethical texts. My family has enjoyed reading books about Abraham Lincoln, the Mayo Brothers, and Louis Pasteur. In all four of these men, our kids can observe how their perseverance and hard work paid off.
Labels: hard work, kids, parents, responsibility
