Don't we all want to raise responsible, productive and independent children? The kind who understand the value of responsibility such that they will dust the furniture in your home, wipe down the kitchen counter, help an elder person cross the street, and do many other chores or responsibilities without being forced to? I bet we all do. But that doesn't magically happen. You have a role to play in helping your children grow to become reliable, competent, and dependable people. Before you even think of enrolling them to the best childcare in Sydney, here are 5 tips that will give you a great head start.
1. Show Them How To Do Things
Children are great imitators. When you show them how to carry out something, they'll do it much better. There’s always a task or two that a child can do, no matter how young or old they are. Be clear with what you expect.
You could have the little ones do the simpler tasks like helping with the dishes. Assign daily chores to the older ones and don't nag them to be responsible. The fewer reminders, the better; I'll show you why later.
Request only once and let them respond. Irresponsible choices are unavoidable; they are all part of this learning process. If they fail to take the responsibility of doing the tasks, follow that up with the right consequences (more about this later).
To reinforce what they have learned, allow them to show someone else how to do their newly-learned task.
2. Be A Good Model (Dependable, Trustworthy, etc.)
Children usually develop values from observing what you do as a parent; what you say barely matters. What they experience is going to end up as a lesson to them. They reflect on it and model their behavior around it.
For example, if you always listen to them and try your best to find fair solutions instead of constantly punishing them, your children will most likely act in the same way towards people. Rather than be obsessed with saving themselves from the unpleasant consequences of their behavior, they will put more focus into the effects of their acts. They won't use force or unconventional ways to get things done.
So guide them. Show them the path to take with regards to the different aspects of their life and explain why the chosen path is right (mention the benefits). Hand them the tools they require to stay on the selected path. Also, work on establishing a strong bond with them so that they will want to look up to you.
3. Build Their Self -Esteem
Research continues to show that a child with high self-esteem tends to be very responsible. They're so good at patiently waiting for something they want. This is because they believe that through practice and persistence, they can achieve anything.
Also, they are quick to acknowledge their mistakes and take lessons from them; they can focus on a task and see it to completion; they are willing and ready to request for help where necessary; they can take risks and try new things, and so on.
Such high esteem often arises from your child feeling capable and lovable. These two things are the ingredients required to build high self-esteem. Here's how to accomplish them:
Show your children unconditional love and make them feel appreciated.
Let them know they are capable by commending each for a job well done
Explain how what they did benefited you
Express your confidence in their ability to accomplish something
Acknowledge their efforts
4. Make Them Feel The Consequences Of Being Irresponsible
Start by listing the age-appropriate responsibilities that you expect our children to do. It could be chores that we want them to complete on a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. Share it them with.
Sometimes they will forget or fail to do what's required to accomplish those tasks. You could remind them, especially if the nature of the task is the kind that should not be ignored. For instance, completing an assignment or reading for their exams. However, there are some you can simply ignore and then make them feel the consequences of not accomplishing them.
When assigning such responsibilities, let your children know what to expect when they fail to do accomplish the tasks without a valid reason e.g. they won't be able to get any gifts for a month or year, no watching TV for a week, no trip to the children's playground, etc.
5. Motivate Them With Rewards & Praise
It would be great if you reward and/or praise your children for completed tasks and those they have done well. However, you need to go about this carefully so that it doesn't look like you are bribing them every time they get something done.
Customise the responsibilities so that they know what goal they are working towards as they work on the tasks. Figure out a way for them to feel the reward of being responsible without having to 'bribe' them. Visit any of the top North Ryde child care centres to learn how they go about child development aspects like this one.
You can go ahead and guide them on how to use what they have earned, especially if its money. Let them know how to spend it and how much to save so that they can be responsible with money in future.
There could be many other tips, but these five will help you accomplish so much in your efforts to raise a responsible child. Some are evidently more involving than others, but that should not discourage you. If you feel completely helpless, you can always seek the help of the best childcare in Sydney.