How To Teach The Kids Responsibility

This is a partnered post.

As with anything in life, we are supposed to make sure that we raise our children to be able to go into the world with responsibility for themselves and for their immediate environment. We teach them to make their beds and clear their clothes to the laundry hamper, and we teach them to tidy their rooms and wash their dishes and as they get older, we teach them to cook and to balance their finances. All of these things give your children responsibility, and the other way that you can do this is when you get the whole family a pet.

It is so important that we raise kind, compassionate children who know who they are and know what is expected of them. As parents, choosing to buy a pet is a big deal as it helps you to put a lot of trust into your children. You can read all the Freshpet reviews and get all the right equipment for your new pet, but if you can’t trust that the kids will look after it, it’s a bad idea. You want children to make the right, responsible choices, and part of this is in the life skills that you teach them. Children without responsibility in some way often struggle to adapt to doing things for themselves later in life.

Image source: Pexels

The key is to give children ownership and responsibility from a young age. It’s not just about household chores, but about taking care of each other and themselves. It gives them an immense sense of pride when they’ve done something right, so why not give these tips a go?

1. Start young. Your toddler is just as capable of learning how to pick up his toys as your teenagers are at picking up after themselves in their rooms. Springing responsibility on a teenager after years of you doing it all won’t help them in any way! So, start from toddler ages and make sure that your kids are growing up feeling like they can do things for themselves.
2. Let them help. Your child wanders in and asks to help you with the pet food or a dog walk – don’t say no! Always say yes if they offer to help. Even the tiniest responsibility gives them a sense of worth.
3. See one, do one. When your kid asks you to help with something but they haven’t done it before, tell them to watch closely because next time it will be their turn. Then, next time you supervise them doing it and watch as they succeed. It’s how children learn and gain a sense of self.
4. Model it. Do you want your young one to pick up their laundry and put it in their hamper? You need to do it, too. When you finish a meal, take your plate and put it in the sink, and they will copy you and do the same.
5. Offer praise. As the adult in the house, no one is praising you for a job well done, but this is the kids and they need as much encouragement as possible. Name the action that they did on their own and thank them for their effort.