November 29, 2016
Giving Them Pride

Dear Dr. Laura:

My two boys, ages 3 and 5, have a chore chart already.  I know some people think I'm crazy, but when I was a kid, I don't remember a time when I didn't have chores to do.  I like what it did for me as a person.  I want my kids to have pride in being able to do things for themselves.

When my oldest son was 4 years old, he could make his own bed.  He was reluctant to start, because he couldn't "make it like mom."  I told him that I didn't care if it was perfect - it was more important that he tried and did the best he could.  I also told him that the more you work at it, the better you get.  Now that he's 5, he calls me to his room to show me his bed.  It's just wonderful to see how proud of himself he is (and so am I).  And the bonus to all of this is that my 3 year old sees this and now wants to learn how to make his own bed too!

Janis


Posted by Staff at 10:59 AM