Part of teaching your children responsibility is by getting them to do chores.
When children are old enough to push a vacuum, sweep the floor or fold their own clothes, let them.
Even if there are still crumbs all over the floor it is important to encourage them and let them know they are doing a great job.
You can always go back later and clean up the mess.
It is important to give your child confidence in doing chores early on and to make them something he or she wants to learn how to do.
If your five-year-old is content folding his or her own clothes crookedly and putting them in the drawer that way, there is no reason for you to fold them.
If you feel the need to arrange the clothes more neatly, fix them when your child is not around.
The point is that a child at that age feels a real sense of accomplishment for doing the task without help, even if it is not done right.
If they continue to practice eventually they will learn how to do it the right way.
Stephanie Martsen, a family therapist, encourages parents to allow their children to develop what she calls their "struggle muscle.
" Just like any other muscle, the only way to develop it is through regular exercise, meaning that you have to be patient and wait for your child to learn how to do something no matter how much extra time it takes, even if the task would have taken you a few seconds.
Practicing chores when your child is young will get him or her used to doing them so that they won't seem like chores when your child is older.
If you never ask your child to do anything, he or she will naturally view it as your responsibility; but if you condition your child to do the chores without being told, there will be very little need for discipline in the future.
Because children are eager to learn how to do "grown-up" things when they are younger, doing chores will be fun for them.
Use this enthusiasm to build good habits for the future.
Although it may not seem like you are disciplining your children, when they are doing their own laundry and cleaning up after themselves you will see the effects of your efforts.
Doing chores is only one of the many examples of ways to start discipline when children are younger so that these good habits continue throughout their childhood and later life.
Children absorb more information in their first five years than they will in the rest of their lives.
These virtual sponges retain all of the lessons you teach them, which is why it is crucial to begin discipline early.
For example, teaching your child to say "please" and "thank you" teaches them good manners that will come automatically when he or she is older.
Simple discipline like this can teach your child basic skills needed for life.
When children are old enough to push a vacuum, sweep the floor or fold their own clothes, let them.
Even if there are still crumbs all over the floor it is important to encourage them and let them know they are doing a great job.
You can always go back later and clean up the mess.
It is important to give your child confidence in doing chores early on and to make them something he or she wants to learn how to do.
If your five-year-old is content folding his or her own clothes crookedly and putting them in the drawer that way, there is no reason for you to fold them.
If you feel the need to arrange the clothes more neatly, fix them when your child is not around.
The point is that a child at that age feels a real sense of accomplishment for doing the task without help, even if it is not done right.
If they continue to practice eventually they will learn how to do it the right way.
Stephanie Martsen, a family therapist, encourages parents to allow their children to develop what she calls their "struggle muscle.
" Just like any other muscle, the only way to develop it is through regular exercise, meaning that you have to be patient and wait for your child to learn how to do something no matter how much extra time it takes, even if the task would have taken you a few seconds.
Practicing chores when your child is young will get him or her used to doing them so that they won't seem like chores when your child is older.
If you never ask your child to do anything, he or she will naturally view it as your responsibility; but if you condition your child to do the chores without being told, there will be very little need for discipline in the future.
Because children are eager to learn how to do "grown-up" things when they are younger, doing chores will be fun for them.
Use this enthusiasm to build good habits for the future.
Although it may not seem like you are disciplining your children, when they are doing their own laundry and cleaning up after themselves you will see the effects of your efforts.
Doing chores is only one of the many examples of ways to start discipline when children are younger so that these good habits continue throughout their childhood and later life.
Children absorb more information in their first five years than they will in the rest of their lives.
These virtual sponges retain all of the lessons you teach them, which is why it is crucial to begin discipline early.
For example, teaching your child to say "please" and "thank you" teaches them good manners that will come automatically when he or she is older.
Simple discipline like this can teach your child basic skills needed for life.
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