Kids and Chores, pt 2

I posted earlier about getting kids to do chores. Now, what are some ways you can motivate kids to help out? Here are some that have worked for me.

Read a book about it. Zen and I read this book called "Tidy up" about a boy who never cleaned up after himself which caused trouble to others. He didn't give it  much thought though until one day he himself tripped over his mess and hurt himself and then he always cleaned up after himself. Simple story but it meant a lot to Zen. She really connected with it. We did a few follow up activities (incuding the letter 'T' ;)) which  reinforced this concept and she now cleans up most of the time. And, we're all happy :D.

Let them be affected by it, I mentioned this before too and feel that it's really necessary. We moms can become a bit too protective and mothery when we can not bear to see our kids feel any sort of distress or pain even if it be the result of their own carelessness. We rush to clean up after them (all the while saying nasty things under our breath) and are proud of ourselves for not letting our kids see the ill affects of their neglect. Really? You know what I mean. The time when you're son or daughter was happily cutting away paper after paper into teeny tiny shapes only to leave it all in the middle of the family room to go play with something else. Who's job is it to clean all that up? If your child is old enough play with scissors unsupervised, I think he's old enough to clean up as well. Don't you? If he doesn't, well he'll have to face the people who will be using the family room later on. Then later may be you can lovingly remind him to be more careful with his work and remember to take care of the mess so no one has trouble because of him.

Do a mini lesson. You can read more about that on teachpreschool . A mini lesson sounds really fun and with Zen constantly screaming these days instead of talking to express her wishes, I think it's time for one around here.

I can't think of anything anymore. Have you any suggestions?

getting kids to do chores

Bismilllah,

This is my own personal experience with kids to do chores.

 I had been wanting for Zenab to begin being more helpful around the house. Then I noticed something. She has  a separate pair of bathroom slippers. Why? Because her slippers often got wet after istinja. Seeing her so upset all the time about this, I suggested she use her old pair of house slippers for the bathroom and she agreed. Not just because mama said so, but because she saw the need for it. SHE felt she needed them and thus they are there and she uses them too! She has this thing with wet slippers which, simply put, drives her insane. Zero tolerance for wet shoes, sandals and slippers. So, Zenab never forgets to change her slippers when going to to the bathroom and changes again when she's done. all on her own. no nagging or reminding from me. Ever. It dawned on me then that if you want your kids to do some chores around the house, let them see it's importance. Let undone chores affect their little lives. Let a clean house have an impact on them. When they see the point of doing it, they'll do it on their own and not just because someone said so.

And it makes sense.

I myself wouldn't want to just blindly follow instructions all day from someone.Neither would you, right?

Let's try and get them to pick up all their toys now ;)

Hello world!

I just felt like posting. My mind is completely blank right now as it's way past my bed time. I can't go to sleep now either because it's almost suhoor time. Yep! This be the glorious month of Ramadan and waking up for suhoor is my biggest and greatest challenge. Fasting seems like a breeze after the challenge of suhoor. You see, once my eyes close for the night, it's really hard for me to open them up again unless my kids wake up and jump on top of me forcing me to get up and fix them breakfast. Yeah. It's sad. I mean, I wish I really could get up early. Early enough to pray, recite Quran and get some cleaning and chores done before my kids wake up but it hasn't happend so far. I try everyday. I really do! *sigh*