Getting Your Kids To Do Chores
Getting children to listen and more important to do what is asked of them, for example, doing their chores, has been a problem, one would suspect, since Adam and Eve started raising their posterity. Although times have changed, techniques probably haven't evolved all that much over the years. We will discuss what has worked and what hasn't worked for parents since the beginning of time.
Thorough Explanation
One of the first rules to encouraging your kids to do their chores is to explain thoroughly what is being asked of them. If children don't know what is expected of them they typically will either not give a satisfactory effort or they will lose interest feeling that they "don't know where to start". Having good communication between parents and their children is key. Again, make sure kids know what you expect of them. Take the time to give them thorough explanation on what exactly you want them to accomplish by way of their chores.
Show Support
Always be supportive to your teen that is experiencing depression. They must be able to look to you as a support and ally as they battle through this difficult period of their life. This is not a time for finger-pointing or blaming the teen or anyone in the family. This is a time that the teen needs all of the love and support they can get from their friends and family. Help relieve the stress in their life. It may be appropriate to have them cut loose some extracurricular activities in their life, even if you are against it, so they can focus on schoolwork and the basics of their life and overcome depression.
Explicit Instruction
When getting kids to do their chores, it is important to teach them proper techniques so they will not only know what is expected of them, but also how they can go about accomplishing the task. For example, when a young man is asked by his parent to mow the lawn, it would be helpful to instruct the young man on how to start and operate the lawn mower safely and maintain it as well.
What steps should be taken when the job is done to clean the mower and how to dispose of the grass clippings should also be taught and demonstrated. In addition, it might be wise to instruct the young man on a pattern to use when cutting the grass so that the finished product doesn't have a series of circles or corkscrew lines in the grass. Again, by having good communication and teaching children explicitly with thorough instruction, success is much more likely.
Rewards
Now for those of us that have children that don't become overly excited when given an assignment, there is an additional technique that can be applied. This would be the concept of incentives or rewards. When kids have something to look forward to for a job well done, they just seem to be much more motivated. It is important to note that the reward should really be in proper relation and proportion to the task assigned.
You might confuse your child by rewarding them with a new car for cleaning their room. This obviously would make the child begin to wonder what kind of reward they will receive for doing the dishes. An slightly extended curfew or a few dollars for helping out around the house should motivate and inspire kids to do their chores and be happy about it at the same time.
Sometimes parents may feel the need to discipline their children if they don't follow through with chores. Taking away certain privileges may be a good motivator in order for them to actually do their chores.
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