Character Education - It's Best To Begin At A Young Age

By Author: Ellie Dixon
Total Articles: 21
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Think of this ... a child who puts her dirty clothes in the linen basket rather than leaving them on the floor, who clears her room without being told, who clears the dinner table without groaning and who happily gives up a morning to help out with the grocery shopping. Every parent's dream? Yes! Will it really happen? Honestly, it's unlikely. But it is possible to raise a responsible child, one who will do her fair share of the chores with only the odd grumble - if you start early!

You can't expect a toddler to be responsible for regular chores, but it's never too early to delegate your child some responsibility. As most young children enjoy copying their parents, now might be the ideal time to start to teach your child that chores are there for every one to take their fare share of. Assign him safe and easy chores, such as deposit letters in the post box, clear the table of unbreakable items, mixing or stirring while you're cooking, dry unbreakable dishes, pots and pans etc. Also teach him routinely to put his trash into the wastepaper basket, trash or recycling bin.

To keep his interest though, you'll have to ...
... ensure that chores are fun. Supply placemats with child appeal when he's laying the table for lunch (or why not make your own by laminating pictures chosen from some of the books in Scruffy's Bookshop?), skip around the room while dusting or why not play a rhythm on the dried pots and pans with a wooden spoon?

Make sure chores are a family affair. The family that cleans, cooks or gardens together will get more done, and have a lot more fun doing it. As long as chores are handed out fairly (and children are very sharp-eyed when it comes to equitable division of labour) then this kind of family togetherness will encourage your children to keep doing their share as they get older.

Keep your demands reasonable, and even if your toddler is enthusiastic about helping with the chores, don't nag him to more than he is able or willing to do. This might cause him to become resentful of helping out as he gets older, when his more expert help will be much more useful to you.

Try not to grumble about having to do chores yourself. If you grumble and complain whenever you have to empty the trash can or push a vacuum cleaner around the house, you're sending a very clear message to your toddler that chores are unpleasant and boring, and to be got out of if at all possible. Instead try to make them more fun by playing your favourite tunes or singing as you work.

You'll probably end up being surprised at how many household chores your normal toddler is capable of undertaking, but do remember that most, if not all chores will need adult supervision and possibly assistance. But try not to assist too much, a chore that's done "all by myself" is always more satisfying for a toddler - and that satisfaction will begin to lay the foundations for your child to grow up helpful and responsible around the home.