We all want our children to grow up to be respectable adults and understand what it means to be a team player. Team players succeed in life, and the good news is that we can start teaching our children teamwork by giving them homework.
No matter who we are, we all have things to do; in essence, we all have chores to do. When we involve our children in our daily and weekly tasks, we teach them responsibility and self-esteem, they become part of the team. They are excited to be a help to us and enjoy having certain tasks to complete.
Homework should be age appropriate but meaningful. For example; a 5 year old can easily fold bath towels, it might not be perfect, however they do a very good job. They can also water and feed the pets, help set the table, help put away the dishes, make their beds, and tidy their rooms. Children are very capable of doing many things at home.
Even if you don’t want to be a perfectionist, you should set some guidelines for your children to follow. Tasks must be completed to a certain standard. If the child cannot complete them to the standard you require, you should first examine the standard to see if it is too high; then examine whether or not the homework is appropriate for your child. For example; some people can be very particular about how a towel is folded. It is difficult to teach a young child the “Martha Stewart” method and expect him to do it to his liking. However, if you’re fine with a normal square folded towel, your child will do just fine.
As the family works together to complete chores, your child will recognize the benefits of helping. The unity this creates within the family is a great way to teach your children teamwork and even spend quality time with each other.
