Train Them While They're Young
>> Tuesday, April 30, 2013 –
dawn,
discipline,
education,
family activity,
troy
My husband practically grew up with no household help. They would clean the dishes by themselves, wash their own clothes, and help tidy the house regularly. American-living lang ang peg. It's not that they cannot afford it but their parents thought it was the right thing to do as soon as all 5 of them (siblings) were old enough to help with chores.
Though i have always admired my husband, brothers/sisters-in-law for their independence, I honestly cannot imagine going completely help-free at home. We usually go out sans yaya on weekends or during family trips. But after 3 weeks in Canada, i was really missing them already. Yes, i am referring to the yayas.
Dens has always told me that he likes the kids to be trained on household chores the same way they were trained before. On a regular school day, Dens would do laundry before doing his homework. After school work is done, all of them had to help set the table and do other chores. It wasn't such a big deal for them since they've gotten used to the routine. I'm sure my family and friends abroad who are reading this are also thinking the same. But for those like me who have grown up with helpers at home, the shift would rather be difficult.
Our kids are still very young so it's really not practical to go help-free at this time (whew!). But that doesn't mean they cannot start helping out with chores at home. For now, our rule for the kids is to just pack-away their own mess. Whether it's toys or unfinished snacks, they need to put them back in their proper place. Dawn has been quite an expert on this and would sometimes even pack other peoples' things - yes, sometimes stuff that we are still using like the remote control. Another thing that we're teaching them is to clean their own mess. Like if they spill something, they have to wipe the mess themselves. We still do not expect them to clean-up perfectly but it's a step to becoming more responsible.
One thing that i really love about this is that they help each other out. Whether it's Troy or Dawn's mess, the other would help (at least most of the time) to clean up. They don't really see it as a chore but just something they need to do. On good days, i don't even need to tell them to clean up. They just do it by themselves.
Truth is, we don't need to let the helpers go just for them to learn. I love that i married a man who is constantly teaching me to be more independent. I pray that my kids will learn to be self-sufficient and not have to always depend on others to do work for them. They're never too young to learn.
Proverbs 22:6
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Though i have always admired my husband, brothers/sisters-in-law for their independence, I honestly cannot imagine going completely help-free at home. We usually go out sans yaya on weekends or during family trips. But after 3 weeks in Canada, i was really missing them already. Yes, i am referring to the yayas.
Dens has always told me that he likes the kids to be trained on household chores the same way they were trained before. On a regular school day, Dens would do laundry before doing his homework. After school work is done, all of them had to help set the table and do other chores. It wasn't such a big deal for them since they've gotten used to the routine. I'm sure my family and friends abroad who are reading this are also thinking the same. But for those like me who have grown up with helpers at home, the shift would rather be difficult.
Our kids are still very young so it's really not practical to go help-free at this time (whew!). But that doesn't mean they cannot start helping out with chores at home. For now, our rule for the kids is to just pack-away their own mess. Whether it's toys or unfinished snacks, they need to put them back in their proper place. Dawn has been quite an expert on this and would sometimes even pack other peoples' things - yes, sometimes stuff that we are still using like the remote control. Another thing that we're teaching them is to clean their own mess. Like if they spill something, they have to wipe the mess themselves. We still do not expect them to clean-up perfectly but it's a step to becoming more responsible.
 |
| Cleaning up Dawn's baby powder mess |
One thing that i really love about this is that they help each other out. Whether it's Troy or Dawn's mess, the other would help (at least most of the time) to clean up. They don't really see it as a chore but just something they need to do. On good days, i don't even need to tell them to clean up. They just do it by themselves.
Truth is, we don't need to let the helpers go just for them to learn. I love that i married a man who is constantly teaching me to be more independent. I pray that my kids will learn to be self-sufficient and not have to always depend on others to do work for them. They're never too young to learn.
Proverbs 22:6
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
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