Building Your Child’s Confidence Through Family Projects

Today, I’m sharing parenting tips on building your child’s confidenceSpending time with your children is something all parents want to be able to do.  However, finding time can often be difficult.  Especially, when you’re trying to juggle work schedules, meetings, school, after-school activities, and chores.  So, why not get your children involved in family projects?  Not only will you be doing projects with your children, but you will be strengthening your bond as well.

Furthermore, you can build confidence in your children with family projects. Doing projects with your children teaches them new skills, and helps build their confidence.  And, they will teach your children how to work as a team.  A skill that will help them in all aspects of their lives.

 

building confidence

 

Gardening is a good project for the entire family and combines art and science for a great learning experience.  It can be refreshing to get your children away from their electronics and outside learning about nature. Whether you want to start a vegetable or a flower garden, you must prepare the soil. Even younger children can help out because they love to play in the dirt.  Make sure they aren’t using any tools that may hurt them. By working together as a team you, your family can not only start a beautiful garden, you can also work together to maintain it. It will need to be watered if it doesn’t rain enough. When vegetables are ripe, they will need to be picked.  Your family can enjoy eating the fruits of your labor together.

Another way to building your child’s confidence is to bring out their artistic side. If you have a bland wall in your home give it some pizzazz.  For older children or teens, especially if they have an innate artistic ability, why not let them put their talents to good use? You can paint your walls, put up textured wall art, or decorate with stencils or pictures.  It will add some color and uniqueness to your home. The younger children can help by choosing the wall art, choosing the colors or handing tools to the older ones.  To further include your younger children, have them decorate the mailbox. Most children enjoy drawing, coloring and painting.  They will feel special, and have something to show off to their friends and others who visit your home.

Treehouses are very popular.  It’s a great family project, and another way to build confidence in your children.  You want to be sure you are using a sturdy tree basic woodworking skills. A treehouse can become a home where your children can spend time alone, time with their friends, or other family members. In order to make sure the treehouse is safe, it will take some time, patience, dedication, and determination. In a world where instant gratification is what most people expect, this can be a valuable lesson.  Once the treehouse is complete, you may consider starting a new tradition such as a weekly Friday night of telling stories and playing games.

 Family projects can include cleaning out the garage? Although this idea of a project might not sound very appealing, the entire family will be glad they worked together to organize their garage once it is done. You never know what you might find when you clean out clutter. Your children might find something they thought they had lost forever! You can install shelves or racks that will help maximize the clutter. Think about how much easier it will be to find things in your newly organized and neat garage. Planning a family movie afterward might also be a good incentive. Your children will be given the satisfaction working together to complete a task.

Working on family projects together is a way to building your child’s confidence. It’s similar to taking family vacations. You are making memories working and playing together. You might even learn new things about your children that you didn’t know.  Their responses will give you insights into what is important to them, and their confidence will rise as you include them in important projects for your home.

How To Delegate Appropriate Chores for Kids

Please note that the title of this post does not ask if children should do chores.  As members of a family unit, of course, they should contribute.  Today, we’re sharing parenting tips on how to choose appropriate chores for kids of various age groups.

 

 

chores for kids

 

Preventing Pitfalls

Perfection is an unattainable goal. So, don’t expect it. Instead, take a more casual approach to chores and the way your kids accomplish them. As long as they make an honest effort, don’t discourage them by nitpicking the job they do, as per parenting pros at WebMD.

Next, don’t put off assigning chores to the kids who live in your house. If any child is earning an allowance, they are old enough to manage at least a few simple household errands.  For example, little kids can put their toys away and place their worn clothing into the hamper.  Elementary school age kids can scoop the litter box and feed the dog.

Most parents use an allowance as a tool for their children to learn money management.  Kids do well when they’re taught the value of a job well done too.   So, don’t always rely on money as proof of their contribution.  An allowance as compensation for chores rarely works on young kids who are not money motivated.

However, lavish praise and be consistent.  Express your happiness while your kid is actually doing the chore. This builds positive momentum and keeps your kid in action. Let your children know that you notice their efforts, and be sure to tell them they’re doing a good job, suggest Mom magazine.

Be Specific

Instead of telling your child to go clean your room, tell the exactly what you want them to do.  For example, put your dirty clothes in the hamper, put away your books and toys, or place your toys in the toy box,” is a much better way to give your kid the message. These are appropriate chores for kids that are young too.  Teach them how to make a bed before telling them to make it. Show them how to do the dishes before sending them into the kitchen to clean up. Make a chore chart and don’t micromanage. You want your kids to learn the joy of a job well done. Teach them to do it right, and let them get on with it.

Assign age appropriate chores

There’s no point in telling your toddler to wash the family car or take out the trash. You can, however, kindly instruct a teenager to do the same. Adolescents are able to manage most household chores sans supervision. They may not smile throughout the process, but they’re certainly capable of doing more chores than their younger siblings.

Teens who are newly licensed to drive may actually enjoy chores like using the family car to pick up needed items at the grocery store. Assign the chore of picking up their little sister at dance class, and you may even find your teen asking for more chores, suggests Mom magazine.

Make Chores Fun For Everyone

When you tell your kid to clean the bathroom, provide them with eco-friendly, nice smelling, biodegradable products. If they are not choked by fumes, they may welcome cleaning the tub and toilet. Stock up on a sweet selection of planet pleasing cleaning items from CleanHappens.com.  Make sure these are appropriate chores for kids who will be responsible with the products.

From the age of five until they reach adolescence, most kids are able to contribute time and energy to household chores. For a third or fourth grader, assign daily chores such as making their own bed, unloading the dishwasher, and feeding the family pet.  Other appropriate chores for kids this age may include things like folding and putting away laundry, emptying trash cans and sweeping the kitchen floor.

Seasonal Chore Charts

If your family lives where leaves turn orange in autumn and spring brings April showers, you can assign seasonal chores to your kids. In the summertime, kids can wash and vacuum the car. In winter, they can shovel sidewalks, suggests VeryWell magazine.

Most importantly, show them how you want the job done and always enforce safety rules.  Aside from that, tell your kid what to do and let them do it.  Avoid nagging your teen. Offer kind and encouraging guidance, instead.

Finally, insist that your teen do their chores before they go out with friends.  Setting priorities is a good way for them to learn management skills too.

About the Author: Jack Gould is a hands-on Dad who is proud to call himself a house husband. His articles talk about parenting, raising strong, independent, healthy and happy kids.

6 Free Chore Charts for Children

Do you give your children chores?  First, I have found that many of our children today have become entitled. They think that they shouldn’t have to work for anything.  Somehow the world owes them.  They make no effort in school, and most importantly they have no respect for their parents or anyone else.  Attitude is everything.  Today, I’m sharing parenting tips on children’s chores for children.

 

 

chores for children

 

Furthermore, children should learn that there are no entitlements.  They must work for they what they want in life. Children need to understand that mom is not a maid or their personal chef.  Putting a roof over their head and food on the table is the result of work.  Just as important, many children grow up not knowing how to care for themselves or how to do things around the house.  So, chores for children is a good thing.

Each of us should strive to become independent.  Furthermore, we should each strive to make contributions in the world.  Raising responsible children is a must for parents.  It all starts at home.  That thought process still continues in my home.  It applies to my grandchildren today.  Equally important, work ethics should be instilled early.  There are many benefits to children being given chores.  We suggest that you use our children’s chore charts below to track and reward their progress.  Here are a few benefits for giving children chores:

  • Responsibility – So, teaching children to take care of the home and themselves should be taught early. This includes their room and their hygiene.
  • The Importance of Completing A Task Next, children need to learn how to start a task and take it to completion.  They will learn endurance, perseverance, and to do things over again if it’s not satisfactory.  Using chore charts is a good way to help them remember and organize.
  • Team Work Chores will teach children about working as a member of a team in the home. Seeing that each has a part will help them see how each contributes. It will demonstrate that each team member contributes to the success of a family and relationship.
  • Self Sufficiency Also, children need to learn how to sustain themselves when possible.  Getting a drink from the refrigerator can teach self sufficiency.  Putting on their clothes, shoes etc. are good places to start.
  • How to Clean and Organize Giving children the responsibility of helping with dishes, meals and cleanup teaches this lesson.  It will give them a sense of keeping things tidy, and the satisfaction of keeping order.
  •  The Importance of Money Furthermore, children need to learn that things in the home cost money.  This includes recreational items, clothes, games, toys etc.  Allowing them to do chores to earn money is a great way to help with this lesson. Teach them to save for something they want.  Allow them to experience the excitement of reaching their goals.
  • How to Save Money Giving an allowance for assisting around the house is a great way to teach children to save money for something they would like to have or do down the road. 
  • Receiving and Giving Rewards Finally, children will learn that receiving and giving rewards boosts confidence and self-esteem.   

chore chart printablesNext,  download our children’s chore charts shown above here.  Children’s chore charts are a great way to help your children remember and complete their daily chores.  Use gold stars as a reward.  Place the gold stars on the days chores were completed.  Most importantly, praise your children generously.  Praise can be more of an award than the gold stars and money.  You may also like Chores for Children by Age.