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Encouraging Heroes. You can be one too.

Chores are certainly not your child’s favorite responsibility in life, but making chores a requirement can teach your child valuable life lessons that he or she can use later on in adulthood. Doing work is not always going to be 100 percent appealing to children who prefer to play and live a worry-free life, but there are ways to make chores more enjoyable. Here are 5 ways to instill responsibility and time management skills in children by giving them their own household chores:

1. Make a Chore Station

For smaller children, a chore station is a great way to keep your little ones involved and to keep everyone with chores accountable. With a simple wood board and a chalkboard, you can create a weekly chart so you child can see the progress they have made. This will keep your child excited to get their work done so that they get the chance to update the station and cross each task off of the list.

2. Encourage Bonus Chores With Incentives

At work, if you go above and beyond it is common to receive bonuses or incentives. You want your children to be a hard worker, and rewarding your children for the extra work is a great way to do this. You have a set list of chores for your kid to do, and can also identify some extra work that can be done. Make a list with the rewards for the bonuses, and your child may get everything done much more quickly.

3. Plan a Fun Family Chore to Do

Family projects tends to be more fun because it is a time where everyone can work together towards a common goal. Planning a family project will build your kid’s teamwork skills and show them that, you too, do chores around the home on a regular basis. If you are moving in the near future and searching for River Oaks apartments to rent, start cleaning out the garage and organizing, and plan a day where everyone chooses items to donate before a move. If summer is coming, de-winterize the recreation vehicles as a family chore. Getting family involved can make the chores go fast and really help teach your child the value of teamwork.

4. Make Chores a Game

For 5 year olds, making chores enjoyable is a bit easier than it would be for a teenager. If you make chores a habit young, your pre-teen will automatically get them done. Create a tic tac toe game with a chore in each box. Once your child has a full row, give them a prize. This is a great way to make something like chores a habit.

5. Let Your Kids Work Alongside You

If you have noticed, children want to be just like their parents. Girls want to do their makeup and boys want to shave like their dads. You can make chores fun by letting them work alongside you with the chore you are tackling at the moment. While you are working you can talk, sing, tell jokes, and give praise, which children always love to hear.

From having a race to making a game of chores, there are ways to get the housework done without doing it all yourself. Reward a job well done, be realistic with the chores you assign, and always give the option to do bonus work. The time you spend stressing chores will pay off when your child has a strong work ethic.

Earnest Parenting: help for parents who want happy chore-doers.