Though you may have the luxury of assigning a yaya to your children to do things for them, you will do your children great service if you teach them chores because they give children a sense of duty and responsibility.
Try giving them one or two chores per week that they can practice and master and turn into a routine by first showing them exactly how a job is done and then by practicing with them. Remind them about the chore by posting a list and monitor progress by checking how they are doing.
Provide them with tools to help them accomplish their tasks faster and more efficiently like a large toy bin to throw toys in easily or hooks around their rooms to easily hang clothes that they still plan to use.
Reward them always with encouraging words for a job well done and points with a prize once in a while.
Try these ideas for making household chores fun for both of you:
• Turn on the music. Encourage your children to dance to the music while completing a task and challenge them to finish a task when the music ends.
• Make it a contest. Have a treasure hunt in the grocery so that your kids can help you find what you’re looking for. I tried this once when I had all four of my kids with me and we had a great time doing the grocery plus they had a sense of importance for what we were doing.
• Give your kids a vision. I try to encourage my kids to dream about how they’d make their bedrooms look better by showing them different bedroom showcases featured in a magazine. Ask them to picture what will happen to their toys if they keep them lying around the house without being put away for a week and what accidents can happen as a result of them being left scattered on the floor.
• Join in the fun. Kids should be encouraged to do tasks that they can do with us, so as much as possible, allow them to help you in the kitchen – setting the table, sorting clothes that need to be washed, and caring for your pets. Because it is a family affair, you hit two birds with one stone.