Teaching Your Children to Work - Part 2

As a child, one thing I remember most about my mother is her strong work ethics . She also believed in keeping a clean house...a spotless house (and to this day she is just the same). How did she get like that? Her mother taught her to work.

Right now, my house is a total mess, but to defend myself, I have six children that keep me busy, so sometimes I am not able (regularly, I am not able) to keep my house like I would like. However, my mom definitely taught me the responsibility of keeping a clean house at an early age.

As a child, I used to hate my chores. I had them on a daily basis. Usually, my chores included

• fill/empty the dishwasher and wash pots and pans
  
• vacuuming the whole house
• cleaning bathrooms (we had three)
  
• making beds (including my mom's bed)
• dusting furniture
• washing windows
• feeding the cats/feeding the dogs
• sweeping floors
• mopping floors
• laundry (not just my own)
  

My mom was teaching me to clean. She was teaching me to work. And you may be thinking:

"Wow! What did your mom do?"
My mom wore more than just one hat!

She worked every day. She fed me, she bought me pretty much anything I wanted, and put up with my crap. She taught me to work, but she didn't teach me to shut up. I guess that's why I talk so much now. Ha! But back to what my mom did...she did everything I did. She never expected me to do something that she wouldn't do herself. That is important. We must first lead by example!

We had an in ground pool, and I remember my mom coming home every day and picking up leaves all over the back yard just so the pool wouldn't get a single leaf in it. Too few to rake, so she would pick them up by hand. "What an idiot!" the stupid teenager in me would say to myself. But now I know that my mom worked her butt off to get that pool and she wanted it to stay clean.

Although I really disliked having to do these things as a child, I appreciate that my mom did it now because as an adult I know that things don't come just because I wish they would, you work to get them. First I had to learn how, so my mom taught me. Did I get paid? NO! NEVER! But I was certainly not lacking anything I wanted, and I gained so much more than a pile of STUFF. I acquired a lifelong skill that I am now teaching my own children.

Children at a young age enjoy imitating what they see grown ups do. This is the best time to teach children to be a responsible member of the family and encourage good habits for when they are older.

It is important that children be taught to work. Not to be slaves, but work. Please don't run your children ragged while you sit on your butt eating Bonbons!

Next time I will share with you some of the chores I have my children do, as well as three important things to remember when teaching your children to work.


Teaching Your Children to Work - Part 1