Responsibility is something which we give to our children gradually and in accordance with their age. Giving them too little or too much is counterproductive. The nature of task should take into consideration the physical, mental, and emotional capacity of children.
Why Parents Should Delegate Work and Responsibility to Children
Children should not be saddled with work and responsibility, right? After all, they should be enjoying their lives by playing and having the freedom to do what they want, all the time. Nothing can be more wrong than this parental view. It does not only invite future problems in the aspect of taking responsibility, it also give rise to more chances of children growing into adults who do not have any idea how to live like one.
Parents who try to do everything even with physically and mentally able children around to provide assistance end up stressed and overworked. On the other end of the line are children who are indulged and ignorant of the realities of everyday living. Parents will not always be around to do things for their children and that inevitability should not be forgotten.
What Kind of Work and Responsibility Should We Delegate to Children?
Every child will have his or her own capability in performing a task. When it comes to age-appropriateness of tasks, experts will always refer to the general sense. At best, they are estimates of what children are expected to be able to handle at certain phases in their lives. Individual capability however is an all-together different thing.
The safest rule to follow therefore in determining what kind of work and responsibility to give to a child is to assess what can realistically be performed based on individual capabilities. There may be some need to explain what exactly is expected to be accomplished. It would be a mistake to presume that children will understand what is being asked to be done.
The Crucial Phase
Remember the time your child was so eager to help around the house but you chose to make it stop because he or she is slowing everything down? Consider the present when you cannot seem to elicit any trace of voluntary help from the same child at his or her teenage years. The period in between these two is very critical.Young children’s correct attitude must be harnessed at the time they are most willing to help although it would take a lot of patience to accommodate their expected mistakes. This is certainly an easier option compared to forcing teenagers to become responsible after being allowed to go scot-free from responsibility for a long time.
Originally posted on December 2, 2013 @ 11:48 am
