My children, lovely though they are, are content to allow me to wait on them hand and foot. If I want them to do something, even something which to me is obvious and which I know they are perfectly capable of completing, then I need to specifically ask:
e.g.
It's dinner time. They know its dinner time. We got in from school and, while they dropped their bags in the hall and slumped with their tablets, I got straight on with making the dinner. Now I have to ask them to please lay the table. At the end of dinner, they go off immediately and play, or watch TV. I guess they assume that the fairies will clear the table and carry everything back through to the kitchen. So I have to ask them to carry some things through. It always seems to come as a surprise!
Don't get me wrong, they are willing to do it. It just doesn't occur to them that they should, unless I ask.
I decided that the best way to clarify our expectations of them, was to write them down. Our children are aged nearly nine, and ten and a half. Here's what I expect them to do:
I'm printing and laminating this list. One copy in the kitchen and one in each of their bedrooms.
I'm doing this for two reasons really. One is that I think children who feel useful are happier. The other is that I will feel more supported. And I don't like nagging, so making the expectations clear will hopefully lead to less of that!
How much do your children help out around the house?
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