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      Creative Reward Ideas For Kids

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      Just as adults like to be rewarded for a job well done, children should be rewarded as well. Despite the fact that many children take an active interest in learning and getting high marks on their own, positive reinforcement is essential to maintain this interest over long periods of time. One aspect of parenting is providing this leadership and motivation through an effective reward system. Still, many parents feel concerned about just giving their children money as a reward for good behavior or grades. Fortunately, there are several creative ways of rewarding children for good grades without handing over cash. Here are 10 creative reward ideas for kids that are small, cheap, and fun!
      10 Fun Rewards For Kids

      1. Verbal Acknowledgement
      Never discount the strength of saying a few kind words. Saying, “Great job on your hard work,” giving a hug, or throwing up a hand for a high five are all great ways to encourage your child’s strengths. Your child should never doubt how capable he or she is, especially when it comes to how you feel about his or her capabilities. In addition, you can hang up the report card or project on the refrigerator for others to see and comment on and so they know you are proud. These are small rewards for kids but ones that really count big time. We all like to feel appreciated.

      2. Create A Savings Account
      You might not want to hand money over to younger children, but you might consider putting it in a savings account that your child can watch grow. This practice will ensure your child has a good chunk of change saved by the time they graduate to buy a car, pay for college, or rent an apartment for a couple months. Ten dollars here and there really adds up over time!
      3. Special Time
      If you have several children, consider taking a day to spend a fun day with just the child you want to reward. Take a day trip just an hour away and do something fun. Go to the zoo or spend time at the beach. Quality time is one of the best reward ideas for kids because it deepens your bond and shows them you care.
      4. Later Bedtime or Extra Screen Time
      As children grow more responsible, many parents choose to increase the privileges they receive. You might increase the time your child gets to spend on the computer, playing video games or watching television by 15 or 30 minutes. You may want to grant an extra 30 minutes to older children before bedtime or a short curfew expansion. This is a great way to acknowledge that your child has been living up to responsibilities and expectations. On the flip side, your child should realize that privileges can be lost if they stop applying themselves to their studies or act irresponsibly.
      5. Books
      Books make a great reward for children who love to read. Rewarding good grades with a book encourages further education and they can take pride in owning the book. We normally go to the library for books. However, when they are doing well in school, we take a trip to the bookstore as a reward. The second hand book stores are incredibly reasonable so books make great small rewards for kids.

      6. Family Night
      If you have a planned family night, allow your child to choose the activity and menu for the night. Some fun ideas include a family game night, movie night, or miniature golf along with a pizza party and ice cream sundaes or s’mores. Celebrating with a family night allows the whole family to be involved in rewarding your child for their hard work. This is one of the fun rewards for kids that they will cherish.
      7. Dinner of Their Choice
      Whatever they decide to have for dinner, they get, no exceptions. If they only want to eat cake and ice cream, that’s fine. Kids find it enjoyable to break out of the ordinary, every day rules and do the unexpected. Let them have fun with it for one meal. Having cake for dinner one night won’t ruin them and will remind them how special they are. It is a cheap reward for kids that they are sure to love.
      8. Give Them a Special Hobby Gift
      This has the opportunity to be one of the most meaningful reward ideas for kids. Is there something your child has been wanting or wish they had more of? Acknowledge their hard work with a special gift. Art supplies or other hobby/craft supplies they enjoy will not only reward them but also inspire their creativity. Furthermore, knowing that they’ll get something they really want if they continue to do good, will keep them working hard.
      9. Give Them a Week Off
      What kid enjoys doing chores? None that I know of! Reward your child for their hard work by giving them a week off from doing any chores. Tell your child that they don’t have to make their bed, pick up their clothes, or any of the other chores they’re usually assigned. Let them off the hook and give them a week off from any extra work around the house. This just may be one of their favorite rewards for kids!
      10. Plan a Scavenger Hunt
      Reward your child with a special surprise or gift for their hard work, but make them work for it. Create a scavenger hunt where they have to solve puzzles and riddles to find their surprise. They’ll enjoy the search almost as much as the surprise itself.
      In addition, make sure you reward your child for even the small achievements like consistently doing their homework without you having to ask them to do so. You may find a reward chart with stickers motivates your child to continue working hard on a day-to-day basis. Kids naturally yearn for parental approval. Show them that you value hard work and education through your words and your actions. Which of these reward ideas for kids do you think your child will enjoy the most?
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      Budgeting For Kids: Teaching Your Children To Budget

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      As parents, it is our responsibility to teach our children financial awareness. This includes showing them how to budget their money from an early age. Including them as a part of the family budgeting plans is a great thing, but it does not relate directly to them on their level. Therefore, helping your kids set up a budget of their own will teach them on a smaller scale what it is that you do every month with your finances.  If you child is old enough to have an allowance, they are old enough to learn budgeting for kids.
      Budgeting For Kids Provides A Firm Foundation 

      “Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold; for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with it. I have good advice and sound wisdom; I have insight, I have strength.” ~ Proverbs 8:10, 11, 14

      Being money wise is very important to your child being able to get started on their own and make it in the world. Knowledge about money and how it works should be shared with them naturally as they grow and opportunities for discussion arise. Whether you are teaching them how to look at the price per ounce part of the stickers at the grocery store, or teaching them to save a portion of their earnings, learning these basic principles will help them immensely when they have to manage money on their own. A great place to start is by introducing a budget worksheet for kids.
      Teach Them To Use A Budget Worksheet For Kids
      There are many budget worksheet options out there that you can find to help you with the basics. Or just use a spreadsheet program on your computer. The left hand column can be for the days of the week and the columns that span the page across will be the categories like games, food, clothes, gifts, and savings. A budget worksheet for kids can be made to suit your child’s age and earnings.

      A budget worksheet for kids should include a place for what they earn, expenses, savings, and charity. Explain to them that they need to fill out their chart or do it together the first few times. Help your kids see how to disperse the money into the categories. If you incorporate a rule that 20% goes into savings and 10% to charity, those should come out first as well as any expenses. The rest can be divided into the fun areas and once they spend it, the money is gone. They will learn that they need to earn more.
      You can find 13 different budget worksheets for kids and pick what best matches your child’s age and monetary experience level at moneyprodigy.com
      Set Goals And Provide A Budget Project For Kids
      When you were younger, before the time of children and marriage, you dreamed of having a family and a home. These dreams became goals for you, things to accomplish and make your life richer in a more spiritual way. To be a realist though, money truly does make the world go ‘round. There is nothing wrong with wanting to feel comfortable in your situation or provide your family with a home. In fact, it sets a great example for your children.
      Sit down with your kids and help them learn to set a short term goal (realistic) and a long term goal (big dream). It is great for kids to learn to work towards achieving their goals.  Have them draw a picture of the goal and hang it by the budget chart so they see it every day and remember why they are saving their money. The short term goal can be something as simple as buying a Matchbox car or saving for new clothes. The long term goal can be putting their money towards a car and/or college. Have them pick an actual dollar amount to work towards. Once they reach it, they can set the same goal again or another goal.
      Now that your child has some budgeting goals, give them a project! You should only use this budget project for kids if they are old enough. Also wait until they have become familiar with using the budget sheet. See if they can use their budget sheets to calculate how long it will take them on their current allowance or supplementing with additional earned income of blank dollars each month to reach their small goal and their large goal.

      Reward Your Child For Learning To Budget
      You can expect some hesitation, a little bit of resistance even. As your children begin to take initiative in budgeting, be sure to encourage them with a shopping trip to buy that item they had been saving for. Every new program needs to be tackled with a loving and supportive attitude. When the family steps up and applies the learnings, let them know how much you love and appreciate them back. Your reward comes much later in life when they are financially stable people!
      Being a parent is a true blessing, but one that does not come without its responsibilities. It will feel really good to know that by teaching budgeting for kids, you are helping to prepare them for a successful future.
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      20 Inspirational Parenting Quotes

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      Being a parent is one of the hardest jobs you’ll ever have. It’s also the most rewarding. Watching your children grow, learn new skills, enjoy new discoveries, and develop their own personality is nothing short of a blessing. But sometimes, we all need a reminder of just how blessed we are! Here are some of my favorite inspirational parenting quotes to help you get back on the horse and try again!

      Inspirational Parenting Quotes To Help You Stay Positive
      As much as you love your child, there are those days. You know the ones. The days when your temper is short and your patience is low. When you feel like you’re failing and absolutely anyone else in the world is a better parent than you.
      When those days strike, take a deep breath and relax. All is not lost and it’s never as bad as you imagine. Every parent you’ve ever know, every parent through the history of the world, has had those days. You are not alone.
      If you’re having one of those off days today, don’t worry. I’ve got you covered with some inspirational parenting quotes. And if today is a good day, you may want to bookmark this page or print it and hang it where you can see it for some inspiration when a bad day does strike.
      As long as you love your child and show them that love in everything you do, you will be a successful parent. Even on the bad days. I hope these quotes help inspire you.

      Positive Quotes About Parenting
      “Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.” –Dr. Benjamin Spock
      “When you look at your life, the greatest happiness is family happiness.” – Dr. Joyce Brothers
      “Don’t try to be perfect. Life isn’t; no one is. Use mistakes and mishaps as opportunities to grow tolerance and to teach. There is such a thing as happy accidents. And love, love, love, and listen, listen, listen.” – Teri Hatcher
      “It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings.” – Ann Landers
      “In bringing up children, spend on them half as much money and twice as much time.” – Author Unknown
      “There is no such thing as a perfect parent so just be a real one.” – Sue Atkins
      “Our most important responsibility as parents is regulating our own emotions, which is essential for our children to learn to manage themselves.” – Dr. Laura Markham
      “Your kids require you most of all to love them for who they are, not to spend your whole time trying to correct them.” – Bill Ayers
      “Don’t let yourself become so concerned with raising a good kid that you forget you already have one.” – Glennon Melton
      “I think that the best thing we can do for our children is to allow them to do things for themselves, allow them to be strong, allow them to experience life on their own terms, allow them to take the subway… let them be better people, let them believe more in themselves.” – C. JoyBell C.

      Parent Child Relationship Quotes
      “You can’t teach children to behave better by making them feel worse. When children feel better, they behave better.” – Pam Lee
      “My parents taught me I could be anything in the world I wanted to be.” – Joan Jett
      “Children learn more from what you are than what you teach.” – W.E.B. DuBois
      “So often, children are punished for being human. Children are not allowed to have grumpy moods, bad days, disrespectful tones, or bad attitudes, yet we adults have them all the time. None of us are perfect, and we must stop holding our children to a higher standard of perfection than we can attain ourselves.” – Rebecca Eanes
      “Never fear spoiling children by making them too happy. Happiness is the atmosphere in which all good affections grow.” – Thomas Bray

      Funny Parenting Quotes
      “I don’t know what’s more exhausting about parenting: the getting up early, or acting like you know what you’re doing.” – Jim Gaffigan
      “Some people care too much. I think it’s called love.” – A.A. Milne“You will never look back on life and think, ‘I spent too much time with my kids.’” – Author Unknown
      “Adolescence is perhaps nature’s way of preparing parents to welcome the empty nest.” – Karen Savage and Patricia Adams“In raising my children, I have lost my mind but found my soul.” – Author Unknown
      Being a parent is the most important job we have. Afterall, we are shaping lives! But the beautiful part is that if we are trying our best, they will know and give us credit. Parenting is a job where we get to reap the love we sow. I hope you enjoy these inspirational parenting quotes. Feel free to pass the positivity on and share them on social media. Tag us with #familyfocusblog!
      Do you have a favorite quote that offers inspiration to parents?
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      Why Positive Discipline Techniques Are So Effective

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      These days many parents are tuned in to the fact that some forms of discipline are heavy handed. Harsh discipline can actually thwart the development of the child by undermining their confidence and weakening the parent-child connection. However, parents also know that all children can – and do – misbehave from time-to-time and discipline is an important part of establishing consequences and boundaries. Choosing to use positive discipline technique for your child is so effective because it helps to establish cooperation without shaming.

      What is Positive Discipline?
      Dr. Jane Nelsen is the founder of the positive discipline techniques and published the book Positive Discipline in 1981. While these ideas were not entirely new, they were synthesized into a clear picture of how to raise a child through positive discipline that helped children to become more responsible, cooperative, and self-disciplined. Positive discipline works through clear communication and keeping the parent-child connection (rather than severing it through chastisement and isolation).
      The Positive Discipline Book:
      The Positive Discipline book goes into much greater detail and gives you many positive discipline techniques and examples to help you navigate parenthood from toddlers to teens. It teaches you how to:
      bridge communication gaps
      defuse power struggles
      avoid the dangers of praise
      enforce your message of love
      build on strengths, not weaknesses
      hold children accountable with their self-respect intact
      teach children not what to think but how to think
      win cooperation at home and at school
      meet the special challenge of teen misbehavior
      Why Positive Discipline Is Better
      Positive discipline is a form of training, as opposed to chastisement – which is more like a punishment. Effective discipline involves clear communication where appropriate behaviors and inappropriate behaviors are made clear as are consequences.
      Positive discipline techniques are better because they focus on encouragement and problem solving rather than on threats, fear of punishment, and/or shame. To me, positive discipline and harsh discipline may both of the same effect of the child behaving in your presence but one is much better. Positive discipline is the best because it is more effective in your absence and because it encourages self growth. Because the child is learning what is expected and learning to problem solve in order to avoid negative outcomes, they are naturally more able to do so without you. If they are learning the consequences of their actions without being shamed and feeling disconnected from the parent, they can learn their lesson without the compounded problem of feeling cut off from their parent.
      Generally, more traditional discipline comes after the horse has bolted and is corrective in nature. It can be confusing to the child if clear communication has not occurred to let them know what was expected or unacceptable. This means that it has the potential to damage self-esteem or undermine a child’s confidence.
      For example, when a child does something wrong and the standard response is go to your room, or a swat on the bottom, the child has been “disciplined” in a traditional sense. But has that child learned anything? They have probably learned that a certain behavior will merit this negative response but they probably haven’t learned why or what they could have done differently.
      Given that children tend to mimic adults, teaching kids this type of punitive reaction to things we don’t like can lead to problems. For example, if I were to smack and shout at my child when they did something wrong, I should not be surprised to find that my child may smack and shout at his friend when he perceives something he doesn’t like. All my child would be doing is repeating what I taught him.
      Using positive discipline techniques helps your child learn to use his or her reasoning and better judgement to avoid misbehavior rather than fear of punishment to avoid misbehavior.
      Positive Discipline Techniques

      Dr. Nelsen offers five criteria for positive discipline- kind and firm, belonging and significance, effective long term, teaches life skills, reinforcement of capability.
      Positive discipline techniques do not allow for permissiveness and still involve consequences. They are kind and firm. It is important to be respectful and encouraging even when you are firm in respecting yourself and delivering consequences teach teach the lesson.
      Children need to feel a sense of belonging and significance. Connection is a very important part of our motivation and children want to belong and feel important. Positive parenting techniques keep this in mind as well as teach valuable life skills such as respect and concern for others. They encourage cooperation and contribution.
      Ultimately, positive discipline techniques are empowering for a child because they invite the children to discover how capable they really are and to use their personal choices in positive ways. 
      Positive discipline techniques take into account that children will often reflect what we do and sometimes show us our own short-comings. We too can practice self improvement in being clear communicators and in looking ahead to avoid poor behavior.
      Another positive discipline technique is to look at the belief behind the behavior. Taking a look at why a poor behavior is happening can sometimes be as simple as the circumstances but for repetitive problems, there may be an underlying belief or misunderstanding that needs to addressed. Talking with children about why they are making their choices and helping them brainstorm and problem solve solutions can go along way towards preventing future problems.
      Real Life Positive Discipline Examples
      This portion of the post is contributed by Neil Fellowes whose mission is to help parents with their parenting techniques using everyday situations. He uses the authoritative parenting style to create less pressure and frustration. He finds that positive discipline is more effective making busy parents more peaceful and efficient. 
      You see, there many things we can do as a parent to pre-empt a child’s behaviour. One positive discipline technique is to put something in place that can stop the unnecessary or unwanted behaviour beforehand.
      For example, if a toddler is left alone in front of the DVD for a time with a drink and they, quite by chance, stand up by the TV and accidentally drip all their juice out of their toddler cup onto the DVD player and it fuses, it will likely infuriate you, but is it really their fault?
      The authoritative parenting style requires the parent to think ahead and work things out for a child. For example, I knew that my children would get on brilliantly for about 30 minutes when they are aged around 12 and 6 years old respectively. If I left them much longer than that they would get disruptive and fall out.
      I noticed a pattern, so I began to interrupt it. After about 20 or 25 minutes I’d go and check in on them, spend 5 to 10 minutes with them and then leave again. This way they spent longer together without annoying each other and falling out. Over time I began to increase the time by a few minutes here and there.  The outcome was a brilliantly creative time where they made animated movies together out of Lego with voice overs.  Because of this they made some memories and developed a closer bond than they would have if I had not predicted their behaviour and interrupted it.
      Yes, positive discipline may require a little more work up front to think things through, but compare that to not thinking things through and the energy it then takes to correct bad behaviour and the bad feeling that goes with that.
      Take a moment now and consider what do you chastise or discipline your child for the most. Think about what is happening just before you have to tell them off… think about what you can do to interrupt the behaviour before it starts.
      An example might be you are going on a trip to grandma’s house. The trip is an hour and usually the children are fine for the first 10 minutes, but then they start to act up, and you have to pull over or threaten them.
      Now use the positive discipline approach. What can you do at 10 minutes into the journey that interrupts the kids? Play a game of eye-spy? Sing a song together? What can you do 10 minutes later? Tell them 10 things you love about them? Have them tell each other what they love about each other?
      You might notice all my positive discipline examples above get the children interacting with each other and collaborating or cooperating.  And you might argue that you can’t do this in all situations.
      For example, what do you do when you are on the phone and you sense they are about to get troublesome? You could give them a rub on the head and pause from the call long enough to reassure them that although you are busy you are watching them. You could end the call if it’s unimportant! Alternatively, you could distract them with a treat of some sort.
      None of this is hard to do. It takes a little thought on your part, but that thought will save you a lot of trouble and frustration and negative energy. On the positive side, what are the long-term benefits you will enjoy as a family because you have stopped negative behaviour and encouraged collaboration and co-operation.
      Conclusion
      For me personally, I have always used positive discipline techniques. They came very naturally to me as my Grandmother always used logic and reason with me to help me chose the best course of action and regulate my own behavior. When more traditional disciplines methods were used on me, I felt very angry and resentful of those lording their power over me. I found in raising my own two children that positive discipline is so effective and it results in happier children and parents.
      There are so many different parenting styles.  What do you feel works when it comes to disciplining your child? Do you think you will try some of these positive discipline techniques?
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      Why Have Kids Write A Letter Of Apology For Bad Behaviour
      Do You Have Developmentally Appropriate Behavioral Expectations? More

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      How To Stop Teens From Texting While Driving

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      It is so important for safety that teens don’t text and drive. Of course, actions speak louder than words, so we must begin to educate our teens by through our own example.  That is probably not enough alone.  We also need to talk to our teens about texting and driving, sharing texting while driving statistics to help understand the dangers. Teens need to understand that we are serious and their actions have consequences. Additionally, here are 7 tools you can use that will stop your teenagers from texting while driving and that may, in the end, safe their lives.

      Share The Dangers Of Texting While Driving With Your Teen
      I suggest educating your teens to the dangers of texting and driving as a starting point. Defensive driving is important and they can’t do it if they aren’t aware of their surroundings. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2010, more than 3,000 people were killed and an additional 416,000 were injured due to distracted driving, which includes texting while driving. That is why texting why driving is illegal in 49 states.
      According to a new, national survey conducted by the Ad Council, thirty-four percent teen of respondents said that they never text while driving. What about the other 66% of teens?  That means 66% of teens surveyed are engaging in at least occasional texting while driving.  So if you think your child doesn’t text while driving, it is worth a talk to make sure that they don’t!

      Texting and driving is an epidemic on America’s roadways, but these crashes are preventable. Distracted driving does not just happen, it’s a choice,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

      Once your teen understands the dangers of texting and driving make sure they understand the consequences too.  A few seconds of carelessness could have a devastating impact on their life and the lives of others. Texting while driving not only jeopardizes the safety of themselves and others, but it can also violate state motor vehicle laws  and result in hefty fines or loss of driving privileges.
      [embedded content]
      Want to take it a step beyond talking? Well, there is a new public service advertisement on YouTube featuring scenes from season three of Fox’s award-winning television series “Glee” to educate young adult drivers on the dangers of texting while driving. It may be the visual aid you are looking for to demonstrate to overconfident young adult drivers that it is not safe to text while driving.
      Have that talk and make sure your teen gets where he or she is going!
      7 Tools to Stop Your Teens from Texting And Driving

      How do you stop teenagers from texting while driving? Sure, you can and should talk to them about the risks, but when you’re 16 or 17, you feel like you’re immortal. Simply knowing that there are risks isn’t enough deterrent for many kids. It is always good to have the talk and then have the follow up safety measures too. Try these tools!
      Prevention apps.There are apps that prevent teens from texting while driving! They use the phone’s GPS signal to detect when the car is in motion, and they cut off access to the cellular network during those times. These apps aren’t available on all phones, of course. There are apps for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry, but you’ll be harder pressed to find a solution for a standard cell phone. They also don’t prevent the person from texting while at a stoplight, which can be just as dangerous and distracting.
      Reward apps.There are also apps that track whether or not a phone is being used when the car is in motion, and send you a report. These apps can be used to reward your children for following the rules of safe driving. You might set up a system whereby a certain number of text-free trips results in extra time or use of the car, or even a boost in their allowance.
      Parental controls from your cell phone service provider.Most of the major cell phone providers offer you a variety of parental control options.  Usually this is in the form of allowing or denying text or calls during certain times of day or to certain people. At the very least, you could set up a rule that prevents them from texting during the time of day when they’re usually driving to school, work, or wherever there regular schedule takes them.Stick shift.Another way to keep kids’ fingers off their phones and focused on driving is to let them drive a car with a manual transmission. When you’re driving a stick shift, you have to keep both hands busy, especially when driving through town. They won’t pick up the phone, because they know if they do they can’t stop at the stoplight ahead.
      Vehicle based cell phone blockers.There are a number of devices that connect with your car’s on-board systems to detect when the vehicle is in motion. Some of these product then send off a cell phone blocking signal, preventing your child’s phone from connecting to the cellular network. They might try to send a text, but it just won’t work.
      Text to speech apps.This may not be the ideal solution, but it can work for some teens. Text to speech apps allow the user to create and read text messages audibly. The Siri app on the iPhone 4s is one iteration of this kind of technology, but there are similar apps on the market for other devices, as well. It still offers a certain level of distraction, just not as much distraction as texting itself offers.
      Lead by example.One of the best ways to encourage safe driving habits of any sort is to set a good example for your teen drivers. Just because you’re an adult who’s been driving for 25 years and haven’t had an accident since college doesn’t mean it’s safe for you to text. If she sees you texting, her teenage mind is going to convince itself that it’s OK for her to text, too. This is perhaps your most powerful tool.

      Texting While Driving Statistics
      Teens need to understand the dangers of texting while driving are serious. Personal stories can be helpful and so can facts. You may want to share these texting while driving statistics with your child to make sure they really get how dangerous it is.
      According to thezebra.com, 14% of fatal crashes involved the use of cell phones.
      Texting while driving increases by 400% a driver’s time spent with their eyes off the road.
      The use of a cell phone while driving caused an estimated 1.5 million car crashes in the U.S. in 2017.
      According to policyadvice.net, “A texting and driving violation can lead to a $290 annual increase in insurance premiums.”
      Conclusion
      Texting and driving is proving to be extremely dangerous. As time goes on, we’re seeing more and more texting while driving statistics that prove this fact.  Encourage your kids to drive safely through conversation and follow up. Consider some of these solutions to help monitor and control their texting activity when you’re not in the car with them. Which tools do you think you will try?
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      Best Summer Jobs for Teens

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      School is over and summer is finally here. Your teenagers are ready to enjoy some fun in the sun and they absolutely should. Summertime is also a great time for them to learn about money management and responsibility. Getting a summer job is one of the best ways for teens to begin to gain independence […]
      The post Best Summer Jobs for Teens appeared first on Family Focus Blog. More

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      Tips For Teaching Kids Responsibility

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      The primary task for us as parents is to raise responsible and competent adult human beings. Losing sight of this job is a disservice to us and our children. In failing to teach kids responsibility, we communicate to our child that we don’t think he or she is smart enough or capable enough to do an age-appropriate task. This robs them of the opportunity to do real work and internalize that they are capable, important and valued. Teaching responsibility to kids leads to happier, more capable adults.
      Are You Using Methods Guaranteed to Fail?

      A lot of us go wrong when we think that we are “teaching” responsibility. We might nag at our daughters to pick up their dirty laundry. We might yell at our sons when they forget to pass on a phone message. It’s easy to let frustration get the better of us in these situations, especially if it is the millionth time you’ve picked up dirty socks from the living room floor!  We need to keep in mind that nagging and yelling do not teach anything except bad interpersonal behaviors – and the children will reflect these bad behaviors right back to us, probably in the form of whining and temper tantrums.
      Like The Paparazzi, Kids Are Always Watching
      All of us have our own home-grown paparazzi, also known as our kids. They watch every move we make…and then, in Academy Award-winning performances, they imitate us. This includes how we handle our own responsibilities. They see us cook dinner, do the laundry, go to work. Granted, sometimes they think these are our hobbies and may need to be reminded that folding their underwear is not, in fact, your favorite pastime!
      It is our job to help our children grow into adult-level responsibility, and we have about 18 years to do this. Just like responsibility is a given in our lives, it should be a given in theirs. Being responsible is what we do, who we are – just a fact of life.
      Teaching Kids Responsibility In An Age Appropriate Way
      The key to making responsibility part of our child’s being is starting early. Even a toddler can have responsibilities she can do, with supervision.  Here are some basic examples of things young children can do to become more responsible, and contribute to a healthy family environment.
      Toddler Responsibility
      A toddler can:
      • Help with basic laundry task.  What child doesn’t want to help you match up socks?!• Put her empty cup on the dinner table; she can even help to set the table, or at least where she sits.• Put all the toys and blocks in the bin after playing with them.• Push chairs back under the table after finishing a meal, or coloring a picture.
      Responsibilities for 3- to 5-Year-Olds
      Preschoolers can:
      Help you dust the furniture, at least the lower pieces of furniture that don’t have much clutter.
      Help you fold and put away her clean laundry; this can help to learn colors; you may even make up some new names!
      Pull weeds in the garden, and plant new flowers.
      Pet and brush the dog; that’s a win-win situation for both!
      Responsibility for 6- to 10-Year Olds
      Older children can be responsible for:
      Putting her clothes in the hamper, and later hanging up or putting clean clothes away.
      Keeping his room neat, including vacuuming.
      Helping you rake leaves (and sometimes you just have to let them jump back in that raked-up pile!)
      Making herself breakfast, but nothing fancy.
      Feeding and giving fresh water to your pets.

      You can not escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today. -Abraham Lincoln

      Teach, Rinse, Repeat
      As children grow and mature, the level of responsibility we give them can increase. But even as they get older, we need to keep in mind that they are still practicing and won’t always get it right. When the inevitable slip happens, I take a deep breath and remember most of the time everybody does the best they can. Then I point him towards the vacuum and remind him for the 100th time not to track mud across the carpet.  I know that repetition is the key to developing the good habits that will serve my kids well the rest of their lives.
      I hope you found these tips for teaching children responsibility useful. What methods do you find most effective for teaching kids responsibility?
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      Why Accountability Is Important More

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      10 Benefits Of Cooking With Your Child

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      Most likely you have some daily chores for your kids to help with. Giving children chores not only helps out the family but to teaches children a few things about real life. Why not let your kids help you cook dinner or a weekend breakfast? Getting your kids in the kitchen and cooking will do […] More