In an effort to begin teaching responsibility, we have required James to start helping us out more around the house. One of James' favorite is helping put the silverware on the table for our meals. He also enjoys filling up glasses with ice and water and putting those on the table as well.
Before bed each night we set aside some time to clean up all the toys and straighten up the living room. Generally my husband will help with this while I am cleaning up the dinner dishes/kitchen. He will assign small tasks to James like picking up all the cars and putting them in a plastic bin, and together the two of them will clean the living room up.
Recently I have made sure to have James pick out the clothes he wants to wear for the day. Before every once in awhile he would want to choose clothes, but now I require him to decide what clothes he will wear for the day, and I encourage him to dress himself too. James does pretty good with his shirts although he can get frustrated if the arm ends up in the head hole. Usually he still wants help with his underwear and pants. Sometimes he will do his socks on his own; other times he wants assistance.
These are just little ways we are trying to give James some additional responsibility, and as he gets older, we will have him help in different ways. We believe it is important for children to learn to contribute to the family and to have knowledge on how to care for themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment