Teaching Independence and Responsibility

By teaching your child how to be independent, you are providing them with the belief that they are competent and capable of taking care of themselves. Teaching your child life skills  is not only important for self care and sufficiency, it also allows them to feel empowered, works on socialization and reasoning and helps develop a healthy self esteem. As children develop, parents can nurture their growing independence and responsibility through positive guidance. It is important to provide your child with the opportunity to make choices and to experience the consequences of these choices.

A useful way to foster independence and responsibility is through implementing a ‘chore list’ of tasks that your child can perform.

Pitfalls to avoid when it comes to chores:

• Don’t expect perfection and provide lots of praise and positive reinforcement to your child for trying his/her best to complete the chores.
• Be consistent in your expectations of your child and the implementation of the chores list.

AGE APPROPRIATE CHORE SUGGESTIONS:

AGES 4 AND 5 YEARS

PERSONAL CHORES ·         getting dressed with minimal parental help ·         complete basic hygiene tasks (brushing teeth, combing hair etc) with minimal parental help (supervision still required) ·         make their bed with minimal parental help ·         bring their belongings from the car to the house FAMILY CHORES ·         set and clear the table with supervision ·         match socks in the laundry ·         be responsible for a pet’s food and water bowl ·         hang up towels in the bathroom ·         tidy up toys after playing

AGES 6 AND 7 YEARS

PERSONAL CHORES ·         make their bed everyday ·         brush teeth and hair independently ·         choose the day’s outfit and get dressed independently FAMILY CHORES ·         vacuum rooms ·         pack away their cleaned laundry, can assist folding the clothes (might require supervision) ·         pack away cleaned crockery and cutlery ·         tidy up toys after playing

AGES 8 to 11 YEARS

PERSONAL CHORES ·         take care of personal hygiene ·         tidy own bedroom ·         be responsible for homework ·         wake up using an alarm clock FAMILY CHORES ·         wash dishes ·         prepare a few easy meals with supervision ·         assist with household tasks such as laundry, dishes etc more independently and with less supervision

By Megan Johnson