My two year old daughter begs to have the broom whenever I bring it out. It’s a funny sight when I do give in to her request. She can hardly keep the broom upright and I have to keep her brother safe from the long broom handle that swoops down on all of us. It really is a lot of fun to do chores with the kids. Well, let me rephrase that. It’s fun when you are not at the end of your wits trying to find time to finish everything. I remember my husband telling me that he did the majority of the clean up one night when I was away because the kids would just not budge and help. Another time, he made cleaning up the toys a fun race for the kids. That worked wonders! Young as they are they already show some preference for which chores they like to do (sorting laundry is definitely one of those) and which ones they seem to dislike a lot (cleaning up especially when they still want to play). As they get older, I’ve heard many a mom say that they just seem to develop a dislike to any kind of chore. Hmmm, it’s funny how I don’t remember disliking chores when I was growing up. Ha! Got you!
Family life would not be complete without chores. Chores are a natural consequence of wanting a home that is clean and orderly. It usually falls on us, mothers, to make sure the chores are done. If we are efficient moms then we have a knack for scheduling and delegating chores. If we are creative moms then we can make the chores fun for all the family. If we are Christian moms then we know how to make our children understand the importance of chores. We help them realize that they are improving their character when they do their chores. They also help others, in this case the family. To add an even deeper dimension, we teach them to do their chores as well as they can so that they can offer it up as a little sacrifice to God. We can teach them to offer up their chore for Dad’s work or for their brother or sister to get well or for them to pass an upcoming exam. I know it can be difficult for us to ask them to pick up their toys for the Nth time and to explain to them that mom and dad are not picking on them. Later on, they will understand. When they have families of their own and the responsibility of chores now fall on their shoulders, they will try to look back and remember how mom and dad managed things. They will remember how to make their homes like Mary's home in Nazareth, bright and cheerful with chores and all.
Do your children have specific chores that they know they are responsible for and are appropriate to their age?
Do they see you doing chores with a smile (or at least with minimal complaints)?
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