Читать книгу Raising Able - Susan Tordella - Страница 41

Doing chores while growing up helped me in two ways.

The first is simple: I knew how to do chores. I was surprised when I went to college how many classmates didn't know how to do laundry, or how to change a vacuum bag.

The second is more a function of my parents than a function of chores: I learned how to manage my time. I was often given a deadline on when chores had to be complete. After that deadline, I wasn’t allowed to do anything fun like watching TV, playing games or reading books until my chores were complete.

I received an allowance unrelated to chores.

This idea of “work before pleasure” really took hold with me, and I still operate that way today. I can never quite relax unless my dishes are done, for example.

I've never been a procrastinator, and I think this correlates with my parents’ enforcement of chores.

Nate Chenenko, contract manager

Rochester, New York

New practice: Become aware of your unspoken expectations and non-verbal language towards your children.

Challenge: Make a list of everything you do around the house. Don’t leave anything out. Ask them to make a similar list with a column of what they do for themselves and a column of what they do for the family. Schedule a family meeting with the goal of moving some of your list onto their lists. Invite them to figure out how they can do more for the family.

For discussion or journaling: How did your family of origin handle household chores? What did that develop in you? What are your objections and suspicions of the proposed positive parenting plan?