Sunday, March 18, 2012

Children, Chores and The "Super Dad" Dilemma

This week Dr. Jane Nelsen discussed Jobs and Follow-Through with Teenagers. This really hit home for me because I have teenagers...and I am terrible about follow-through. To be honest, I have always found it easier to be a "Super Dad" doing everything for my kids rather than hassle with trying to get my kids to do much around the house. As long as they are taking care of their responsibilities with school, sports and music, I feel like they are fine.

But are they "fine?" Is it possible that I was robbing them of opportunities to feel capable?

I decided that this might be the case, so at a recent family meeting I suggested a system for handling chores around the house. I made a list of some of the most common chores that need to be done and listed them on a chart. Each day the children roll the dice and the number determines which chore they are responsible for that day. They really like this system because they also have the chance to roll a "6" for a free day.


But the system still requires follow-through on my part. The kids still need to be reminded to roll the dice each day and then I often need to remind them again to complete the chore. But overall it has been a success. And the children seem to be feeling good about their contributions.

2 comments:

Leah said...

I read your other post about the dice chore and implemented, but only on Saturdays (to ease them into it). They each have daily responsibilities on a chart as well, such as brushing teeth, packing lunch, etc. I like the idea of a free space, and I think I'll move into doing the dice chore every day. What do you think about how many days per week with my 9, 11, and 13 year old? Obviously, the older one can handle more responsibility/chores.

The Cooking Corner said...

Very good post, and i really enjoyed looking over your site. You have great ideas and I love how different it is. Very creative! I'm always looking for fellow single dad bloggers to meet and share ideas with.
Chris.