A responsible kid is someone who can fulfill their academic and extracurricular responsibilities on time. Such a child may also get the opportunity to help parents at home and provide their input in keeping the house clean and tidy. Making kids responsible is a continuous process of assigning them different tasks and teaching them how to do them.
Slowly, the child learns how to practice these tasks on their own and help in the smooth running of the house. Such a child can also be of great help to parents. To make a child responsible from an early age, parents can start assigning some age-appropriate tasks to them. As the child gets older, these tasks can be exchanged for something more complex that they can do. This habit will not only ensure that a child becomes responsible but will also instill a deep sense of punctuality and time management among kids.
Here are seven different ways through which kids can assist parents at home.
One of the earliest and essential habits that kids can develop is to make their bed after waking up. A clean bed can instantly make a room look so neat and put together. Additionally, it is a great start to the day as the child may feel oriented and alert soon after waking up. It is also a way of making the child understand the importance of keeping their belongings in place or else everything in the room will stay dirty. To make this easier for the child, parents may initially assist them. You may teach them how to put bed sheets and pillows in place.
This is an appropriate responsibility for kids up to age 5 or 6 years old. Parents must make the child understand that all the dirty laundry must be kept in a particular place in the room. This could be inside a basket or a particular section in their cupboard. It is done to ensure that the dirty clothes do not get mixed with clean clothes. On the washing day, the child will have to take all these dirty clothes to the washing area and assign them over to their parents.
After dirty laundry has been washed, and it's ready to be taken back to the respective rooms, the child can simply pick out their clothes and take them back to their room. This may make it easier for the parents to arrange fresh laundry. Parents may make it like a fun game for the child by asking them to separate their clothes based on color combinations. Once the child learns how to do this activity properly, parents may also teach them how to fold various kinds of clothes and keep them in their cupboards neatly.
For parents who want to indulge their child in the kitchen but do not want to introduce cooking to them, arranging dishes on the shelf can be an appropriate activity. Once dirty dishes have been cleaned, parents may keep them on the side shelf to let them dry. As soon as the dishes and other utensils are properly dried, the kid can be assigned the duty of putting all the different utensils in place according to the shape and size.
One of the primary responsibilities of a child is to take care of their books. Books need proper care and attention or else they get worn out easily. Regular packing of bags is important for the child to ensure they take the right kind of books to school and do not carry unnecessary weight. Similarly, at the end of the day, the child should also unpack their school bag to take out extra notebooks or excessive waste from the bag to keep it clean. Parents may help the child by assisting them in how to pack their bags according to the daily timetable.
Many times, kids might create a lot of mess while playing with their toys. After playtime, parents can ask the child to clean up all the mess by keeping toys back in their place. To make this easier, parents may also assign kids a proper toy basket that can contain all their toys. Many times, parents clean the after-play mess themselves instead of calling out to the child. This may make the child a bit lethargic, and they may not understand the importance of keeping their room and surroundings clean.
If you have plants at home, then you may assign your kid the duty of watering them every day. Being in the vicinity with plants and watching them grow every day may make the child understand the difference between these plants, the flowers, and leaf patterns. As the child gets accustomed to watering the plants, you may also teach them how to take care of the plant by adding manure and cleaning the plant pot from time to time.
Assigning small duties to kids may not only make them responsible but can also help in enhancing their confidence. When a child is properly involved in household decision-making, they might feel more motivated to carry out other tasks and learn better.