Chores and Rewards

Chores and Rewards

Hi everyone!

 This is Kristen from Expert Tutoring Near Me. I am excited to announce that this is our first blog post in a series of upcoming articles and videos meant to provide parents and students with some helpful tips and tricks to guarantee our number one goal: healthy academic success! It is our hope that this series will be a guide for parents and students to easily transition into creating an organized and fun approach towards education.

 Over the course of this series we will tackle the crucial steps that are necessary, for students and parents alike, to ensure that education is not only interesting and rewarding, but also fun! For this first article, we will be talking all about structure and rewards as an approach to everyday life, not just in school.

 Organization as a daily practice will improve overall quality of life and peace of mind for everyone, no matter what age. We’re not talking here about a militaristic regime of unrealistic rules, because that is not sustainable nor fun for anyone.

 Let’s take a step back and look from a bird’s-eye view of what this looks like for daily life. Simple things like learning how to clean up after ourselves will greatly improve our overall quality of life, while also instilling a natural instinct to be more organized in everything that we do. For example, parents can lead as role models in maintaining cleanliness in all of the more frequently overlooked areas. This looks keeping dishes out of the sink, putting away piles of laundry, keeping  vacuuming all surfaces, including in cars underneath car seats. and home offices organized, 

 We get it, as parents leading your own daily lives and balancing work, illnesses, appointments, play dates, and relationships, sometimes things tend to pile up or get set aside as a “future” project. However, the more routinely you can implement these simple practices, the more you will show yourselves as role models for your kids. (Also, don’t forget to reward yourselves for a job well done!)

 Actively showing your children that you are willing to clean up messes and take initiative in doing so will encourage kids to do the same!

 Start with easy things for the kids to do, like putting away toys and books after they are finished using them, taking their dishes from the table to the sink, and making their own beds (including the sheets and fluffing their pillows). While threating punishments such as taking away iPads and limiting general screen time can be a tempting instinct, overall it isn’t an effective nor sustainable way for anyone to learn how to enjoy being organized and proactive. This is why we always encourage parents to foster a sense of satisfaction in completing a necessary task through incentives and rewards. Afterall, why teach children that completing chores and being organized is a task motivated by fear, rather than that leading clean and helpful lives can be fun?

 Get creative with rewards! Sit down with your children and genuinely engage in discussions with them about what they would like to receive as incentives and rewards. Have ongoing fruitful and thoughtful talks as they get older and their responsibilities grow. For example, a toddler will likely ask for things like candy and extra dessert as a reward, and also new books, while older children will begin to ask about things like video games, extra screen time, and hang time with friends. You can offer weekly visits to their favorite fast-food establishments for things such as completing their chore charts.

 This brings up an essential point- CHORE CHARTS! Whatever age your child is, sit down and have an open conversation about what they would like to be on their chore charts, as well as what you would like on them. Allow them to negotiate with you. Ask them what rewards they would like for completing things daily, on time, and with a sliding scale for rewards based on the level of importance as well as responsibility. Be realistic and don’t push them too hard.

 Having straight B’s versus straight A’s will determine the level of the rewards they get, such as going on an exciting trip for academic success! Take into account their actual abilities and the troubles they may be facing, such as things like learning or attention disorders, being bullied or being afraid to ask for help with teachers, being overloaded with extracurriculars, or not speaking English as their first language.

 Overall, try to instill these values and responsibilities in your own daily lives as well as in your kids. Their success will come from your example. Teach them to be more organized and efficient in every aspect of their lives, especially in school.

 And remember, HAVE FUN!!