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Clean That Room!
How to Get Your Kid to Help Around the House
By Gwen Morrison
"Doing chores is a discipline we have instilled in our kids since they could communicate," says Janis Legg from Sarnia, Ontario. "We were consistent with our expectation of the results and didn't let it go, even if we were tired. My son, who is now 10, knows he's expected to do his share."
Legg says that getting her kids to do their chores is not a problem in their house and believes it's because she and her husband have placed increasing responsibilities on their children since they were very young. She believes in communicating with your kids that even though the jobs are not fun to do, everyone has to pitch in so they can all have their social time.
"My son is responsible for making his bed, taking his sheets off weekly for doing laundry and straightening up his room," says Donna Ahlstedt from Lawrenceville, Ga. "He is also asked to unload the dishes every day [and he] makes his lunch for school."
Ahlstedt is confident that the reason her son doesn't grumble or groan about doing his chores is because he knows that if he has a bad attitude about what she asks him to do, there will be consequences. "He will have more privileges if he is cooperative," she says. "I like the idea of positive reinforcement of good behavior more than consequences for irresponsible behavior, but I use both, and both are actually effective."
