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Training My Children
by Sharon Bacasmot and Linda Price
Q: My oldest child is a first grader.
I also have a pre-schooler and an infant. My oldest is still
not at the point where she can contribute a lot to the household
work. I know that I need help and it is important for the
children to learn responsibility with household tasks, but
it takes more time for me to train them in these tasks (and
get them to finish them!) than it does for me to just do
it myself. Any suggestions?
A: Relax and take the time to teach your first grader how
to do household tasks. Some things are worth taking time
for. One of those things is training our children. Before
beginning to teach, be sure your child has the physical
and mental readiness required to perform the task. Of course,
a first grader won't be able to do many things. He/she,
however, will probably be able to do more than you think.
Rather than assigning tasks, have your first grader help
you. Have your child work with you, gently guiding and teaching
and interacting as you accomplish a task. As you teach him
or her how to do the task, be patient, positive and appreciative
of your child's efforts. Will it take a lot longer to do
this? Of course, but you will be building a relationship
with your child and training him or her that work is a good
thing, and that work done well is better.
You can also use time spent on teaching household tasks
as fun learning "breaks" between short academic
sessions.
I recall hearing Jean Lush (author and speaker) on "Focus
on the Family" describing how her father taught her
to garden. She was not very old but he made it enjoyable.
He also required her to do it correctly. Even a preschooler
can be taught to do and enjoy simple tasks. Decide on some
task that you want to teach your child. Do it together.
Maybe it would be the same task (or tasks) each day. Choose
something that will really be helpful to you, and the day
will come when your child will be able to take responsibility
and handle jobs well. Remember, this teaching is part of
school work, and that the time you spend now will be time
you will save after each task is learned.
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