by Precious Alex-Toji | May 29, 2022 | Family & Parenting
One of the children’s favorite activities is watching TV. With thousands of TV programs airing today, it is important to pick educational TV shows for kids that will educate and influence them, positively.
As a child, I remember wanting to rush home from school because my favorite cartoon aired at 3. If my parents were a tad bit late, I’d throw a tantrum.
Today, it is no different. In fact, I could say it is worse. I can’t remember trying to swing webs like spiderman.
Just last week, I saw a video of a child expertly climbing two walls and I began to question my childhood. I could tell he was raised by Nigerian parents.
As a parent, you’d not want to deprive your child of this free-time activity. However, you can ensure that they watch educational TV shows for kids that help them enjoy learning.
Just to give you a feeling of nostalgia, do you remember Sesame Street? Did your face just light up in a smile?
Well, to put a smile on your kids’ faces too, here are some educational TV shows for kids.
1. Wild Kratts
Wild Kratts is a live-action/animated series that teaches children about our environment, animals, and the ecosystem. It was created by the Kratt brothers, hence the name.
Each episode starts with details on a particular animal, explaining its features and what it can do. Sometimes, the Kratt brothers go into the field to see these animals live in their habitat.
Wild Kratts is to kids as Nat Geo Wild is to adults.
It is aired on PBS kids and has 6 seasons with 152 episodes.
It has an IMDb rating of 7.8/10.
2. Odd Squad
Odd Squad is a live educational TV show for kids that is centered around using mathematics to solve problems.
Each episode features a child (who is employed by the Odd Squad) who solves strange things happening in their town using basic math and reasoning.
It is aired on Discovery Kids and has 3 seasons with 103 episodes.
It has an IMDb rating of 7.2/10
3. Sesame Streets
“Lalala lalala, It’s Elmo’s world”
“Lalal lalala, it’s Elmo’s world”
I grew up waiting for Saturday morning because of Sesame Streets. The streets would never forget this gem.
Sesame Street is an animated children’s series that teaches children about culture, human behavior, and humor.
To make it relatable, the producers make use of puppets, and children in teaching lessons.
Fun fact- Sesame Street was first produced in 1969 and it is produced around children’s curriculum!
It currently airs on HBO Max and has 52 seasons with 4,591 episodes.
It has an IMDb rating of 8.2/10.
4. The Who Was? Show
The Who Was? show is based on the ‘Who was?’ books published by Penguin books. It is a series of non-fiction books that gives insight into historical people of the past.
The TV adaptation, the ‘Who Was?’ show is a sketch comedy series that teaches children a bit of history.
The main character, Ron, enters into conversation with teenagers mixed with an illustration of historical events.
It is aired on Netflix and has one season with 13 episodes. It has an IMDb rating of 6.8/10.
5. Kids Say the Darndest Things
Based on the American reality TV show, Kids Say the Darndest Things is a children’s program that allows kids to express themselves on social issues and life in general.
It was one of my favorite children’s shows growing up. You get to hear the perspective of children on different questions. It is unscripted and natural.
Most times, the replies of these kids can surprise you and leave you like “What! Lok at how smart they are”.
6. Turtle Taido
“Can you tell where the Zuma rock is in Nigeria?”
“Abuja, yaaay!”. I still hear these words in my head to date.
Adventures of Turtle Taido is an educational TV show for kids that is produced and created by Muyiwa Kayode.
It is a Nigerian-themed animation that takes kids through the adventures of a lively turtle called Taido. The show exposes kids to the different cultures in Nigeria and their history.
It also shows children how to make friends and live peacefully with one another.
It currently airs on the NTA network and Silverbird TV.
7. Ask the StoryBots
If you’ve been around little ones, you’d agree with me they ask a lot of questions.
“Uncle Alex, why are my teeth white?” Sometimes it can get tiring, which is why I love this animation.
Ask the StoryBots is an animated child show that gives answers to children’s darndest questions. The StoryBots are as curious as children and try to get answers to their curiosity and replay them to the kids.
It currently airs on Netflix for 3 seasons and 22 episodes. It has an IMDb rating of 8.4/10.
8. Blue’s Clues and You
Blue’s clues and You ranks among one of my favorite educational TV shows for kids. I started watching it as an early teenager and it was awesome.
It is a live-action/animated children’s series that features Blue, who lives in an animated world using clues to find answers to problems.
It currently airs on Nickelodeon for 3 seasons and 49 episodes. Also, it has an IMDb rating of 6.5/10.
9. Brainchild
If your child is expressing love for science, this TV show is highly recommended.
Brainchild is an educational TV show where scientific experiments are conducted to answer questions on different topics such as gravity, and emotions.
It is produced by Pharrell Williams and is available on Netflix. It has an IMDb rating of 8.1/10.
10. Peg + Cat
Peg + Cat is an animated TV series for kids where children between ages 3 and 5 are exposed to math and are taught basic skills to solve everyday life problems.
It has 2 seasons with 63 episodes that run for approximately 30 minutes each. It has an IMDb rating of 7.9/10.
11. Team Umizoomi
Another favorite cartoon of mine, Team Umizoomi is an animated children’s series that teaches math concepts to solve problems.
The team consists of two siblings and a robot named Geo who travels around to help characters solve problems. Multiplication, sequences, and shapes are some of the tools they use when solving problems.
It is currently aired on Nick Jr and has 4 seasons with 80 episodes. It has an IMDb rating of 6.1/10.
12. Annedroids
Annedroids is a live-action educational series where children are exposed to science and technology concepts.
Anne, an 11-year-old science genius, and her three amazing androids explain all about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) from the perspective of a child.
It currently airs on Amazon Prime and has 4 seasons with 52 episodes. It has an IMDb rating of 6.2/10.
Conclusion
Exposing your children to educational TV shows for kids holds a lot of advantages. They get to learn a lot about new things while having fun in the process. It is a great way to encourage learning in a fun way.
I grew up watching Sesame street, team Umizoomi, blue’s clues, and turtle Taido. Which is/was your favorite and why? Let me know in the comment section.
FAQs
Are there educational TV shows for babies?
Yes, there are. These include Sesame streets, Super simple songs (YouTube), and Word Party (Netflix).
Any educational TV shows for 10-year old?
The Baby-Sitters Club (Netflix), Gravity Falls (Disney+), and Diary of a Future President (Disney+) are a few TV shows to educate your adorable 10-year-old.
Are there educational TV shows for tweens?
Oh, sure there are. These include Brain Games (Amazon), Space: New Frontier (Amazon), Plastic Ocean (Netflix), and The Last Man on The Moon (Netflix).
What educational TV shows are there for adults?
There are loads of educational shows for adults. Some of these include Explained, 100 humans, Salt Fat Acid Heat, and Night on Earth, all of which are available on Netflix.
by Happiness Hassan | Feb 20, 2022 | Family & Parenting
Humans react differently to things and situations happening around them or to them. However, irrespective of the differences, it can be broadly classified into positive and negative reactions. For instance, when challenges occur with no hope of a solution, the vast majority will lose focus and give in to fear and tears. On the other hand, there are still a few individuals out there, who can cope fine despite their current situation. These categories have learned how to understand their emotions and choose the positive over the negative. This article seeks to tell you about activities to help your child grow emotionally.
Interestingly, growing to such a stage of emotional maturity doesn’t happen overnight or within a twinkle of an eye, in essence, it’s a process that requires time – It begins from childhood. Therefore, as a parent there are a series of activities to help your kids grow emotionally mature; this process eases their growth stage unto adulthood.
What is Emotional Maturity?
Emotional maturity is a state where a person has gained the ability to understand his/her emotions, and beyond understanding has the power to manage their emotions no matter their circumstances – either pleasant or unpleasant. As earlier established it doesn’t happen in a day, but it’s a skill that is developed through consistent work overtime. Furthermore, growing to the stage of emotional maturity begins with the development of one’s emotional intelligence by having vivid knowledge of one’s thoughts and behavior.
Subsequently, this lays the foundation for emotional maturity and helps one decide how best to approach a situation. Sadly, most parents don’t feel the need to help their kids grow emotionally, because they have experienced a series of emotional neglect in the past. However, instead of depriving your children, you can choose to learn how to overcome childhood emotional neglect.
What Are the Benefits of Emotional Maturity?
1. Emotional Maturity Helps One Provide Productive Solutions to Problems
Problems are certainly unavoidable in life, arising from people, situations, and things. But what matters most is how we can handle those problems by providing a productive solution. In response to this, being emotionally mature keeps one calm despite the turbulence around. Also, in a state of calmness, a person can think straight and provide constructive solutions.
2. It Helps Kids Associate Socially With Peers
As a parent don’t hesitate to learn about those activities to help your kids grow emotionally, this is because this activity enables them to associate with their peers positively. Kids who are damaged emotionally have poor self-esteem about themselves and feel left out among their peers. In contrast, when your child is matured emotionally they feel good about themselves and mingle with their peers to learn more.
3. Emotional Maturity Empowers One to Seek Help
Those who are mature emotionally know that life isn’t about themselves alone. Rather a connected network of valuable people, who serves as a propeller towards the actualization of their goals. Hence, when they are exhausted they don’t keep the pain to themselves or die in silence, on the contrary, they are quick to ask for help if need be. In essence, kids who are mature emotionally feel free to tell their parents things about themselves especially when they are suffering from bullying at school.
4. Emotional Maturity Enables a Person to Cope with Difficult Situations
Hard times are what make the journey of life worthwhile. They build us into becoming the best version of ourselves because the comfort zone slows down progress. However, those who are not yet mature emotionally easily get overwhelmed by their difficult times, but the reverse becomes the case when such a person is emotionally matured – they overcome difficult times. Therefore, you must be determined to learn about activities to help your kids grow emotionally which enables them to cope with difficult circumstances.
5. Control the Effects of Negative Emotions
The vast majority don’t know how to curtail their negative emotions and similarly don’t care about the aftermath of such emotions. Those who struggle with anger or other negative emotions must learn to excuse themselves from amidst people to avoid taking regrettable actions. This is why everyone must learn how to be emotionally mature to avoid hurting themselves and others by venting negative emotions wrongly.
Activities to Help Your Child Grow Emotionally
1. Spend Quality Time with Your Kids by Hanging Out Together
It’s wrong to abandon your kids all in the name of a quest for money, a career, or an accomplishment. When kids are left alone they begin to feel unwanted and think less of themselves. In contrast, learn how to balance work and family to be able to spend quality time with your kids. Hanging out with your kids helps them realize that survival is tired of social connection and they wouldn’t hesitate to seek help when needed instead of keeping the pain to themselves.
2. Practice More Relaxation and Meditation
Among those activities to help your child grow emotionally mature is the frequent practice of relaxation. Kids shouldn’t be exempted from this practice. This is because both of them are healthy practices that help bring the body to a state of calmness and focus. Interestingly, the more your kids give in to the act of meditation the more they can maintain a calm state when unpleasant things happen. Constructive solutions are birthed from the state of serenity and focus. Also, encourage them to cultivate the habit of listening to calm music.
3. Encourage Your Kids to Practice Healthy Habits
The practice of healthy habits is what enables kids to value themselves and learn to become more empathetic towards others. In essence, they become mindful of all their actions and decisions to avoid causing harm to themselves and others. Healthy practices include obedience to instructions, keeping good company, proper eating routine, dedication to academic work, and being truthful and honest among others. In addition, ensure you inculcate the right morals into your kids because kids who are morally unsound easily give in to negative emotions.
4. Decisions Making Helps Kids Grow Emotionally
Your kids begin to take responsibility for their actions when they are allowed to make decisions by themselves. Responsible kids will always manage their emotions irrespective of the situation. The importance of allowing kids to make their own decisions can’t be overemphasized as it helps them see the bigger picture of life. This way, they can choose what’s right over what’s wrong without feeling controlled or forced. At times, as a parent, you may feel they don’t know what’s best, however, feel free to tell them the pros and cons of every action they intend to take and allow them to decide.
5. Kids Who Engage in Worthwhile Activities Grow Emotionally
Productive activities are one of those activities to help your child grow emotionally. This is because these kinds of activities boost their creativity and brain coordination and; in turn influence their emotions positively, especially when done within a group like academic activities and participation in sports. In addition, be committed to discovering your kid’s talent and supporting them as much as possible. Furthermore, they should grow their talent by learning a skill that’s related to their talent.
It may interest you to check out fun things to do with your child at home during the holidays.
6. Allocate House Chores to Your Kids
Kids who get everything done for them by others find it difficult to coordinate themselves. In other words, they don’t know the value of things because they aren’t aware of the effort put together to achieve that thing. Therefore, you would do your kids lots more good by assigning them household chores for kids. Engaging in such activities teaches them about hard work and boosts their problem-solving skills when a task requiring their reasoning is assigned to them.
7. It’s Okay For Your Kids to Make Mistakes
Oftentimes, people get confused when they make mistakes or give in to depression when they fail because they have been taught that failure is the end of the tunnel for them. This mindset is often gotten from childhood as parents make their children feel bad when they make mistakes. However, this approach is wrong as it limits the growth of any child. Failures and mistakes are part of life and are stepping stones to greater heights. Hence, allow your kids to make mistakes so they can learn and avoid such occurrences in the future.
8. Reading Valuable Books Boost Emotional Growth
Reading books is one of those activities to help your child grow emotionally when applied currently. Kids can learn about different types of emotions and the effects of reading books related to emotional growth. Oftentimes, this book comes in children’s novel format telling stories about things, animals, and humans. However, within these storylines are moral lessons for kids to learn and apply to their own lives. So, instead of allowing your kids to play around or spend unnecessary time in front of the screen, buy them this set of books and watch them grow emotionally.
Conclusion
Growing emotionally isn’t a day job but rather a continuous process of growth beginning from childhood. Therefore, take all those activities to help your kids grow emotionally outlined above one at a time. In addition, encourage your kids to familiarize themselves with a positive affirmation attitude. In essence, they should learn how to always say something positive about themselves, as it influences their mindset and reactions towards situations that happen around them.
by Happiness Hassan | Nov 27, 2021 | Family & Parenting
In a family system, opposition and competition among siblings can’t be avoided. This is due to individual differences and the desire to be the best at the expense of another person’s well-being. Siblings rivalry may be inevitable, however, certain principles make managing sibling rivalry achievable.
Irrespective of the love and unity among siblings, there always comes a point of disagreement, when not curtailed can tear the home apart. Therefore, it’s your responsibility as a parent to be able to understand each child’s perspective when opposition arises. Most importantly, solve the issue without being biased.
Effective Ways to Manage Siblings Rivalry
1. Think Before Acting When Rivalry Surfaces
Whenever there seems to be friction between your kids, your first line of action is to calm yourself down. This prevents you from acting out of anger or siding one child over the other. Most importantly, you’re able to understand what exactly is the root cause of the problem, who is at fault, and what solution is best.
In addition, learn to discipline your kids in love and avoid correcting them through violence. In other words, disciplining in love makes your kids see their faults and make amends or improve their character. However, violence makes their character grow worse, decreases the love bond between you and that child, and causes them to become violent with other siblings and peers. Also, that child begins to develop enmity towards you as a parent.
2. Treating all Siblings Equally Minimizes Rivalry
Managing sibling rivalry demands that all kids be treated equally—no discrimination. Sincerely, everyone is unique in their way. However, don’t let one child’s weakness or strength influence how you relate with your children. Remember your kids are good observers, once they notice you have a favourite, the rivalry begins to surface as a means of expressing their emotional neglect.
This reminds me of my childhood experience. One faithful day my mom returned home and brought presents for me and my brother. Innocently, she gave me a pair of shoes and gave my brother the same with the addition of a football. I had no need for football but at the same time felt cheated and unloved— immediately, my mood changed. My mom noticed and began questioning, when the cause of my mood change was discovered, without much time wastage it was corrected.
In other words, as a parent, it’s expected of you to love and relate with all your kids equally. Most importantly, gender should not dictate how you treat your kids. Female children are entitled to all rights and benefits just like male children. Discrimination is one of the parenting mistakes to avoid as a parent. Also, discrimination affects both academic performances, social ability, emotional intelligence, physical and moral behavior of a child.
3. Celebrate Your Kids Uniqueness and Differences
Siblings begin to compete with each other when they think less of themselves— low self-esteem. Hence, managing sibling rivalry requires creating time to acknowledge and celebrate your kid’s uniqueness. This act helps them see the best in themselves and erase the feeling that another is better than them. Also, while doing this don’t exalt one child highly in the midst of another, this often stirs up hatred towards that child from the rest of the siblings.
Amazingly, the more you celebrate your kids, they begin to embrace each other in love, seeing the need for each other. Gradually, it becomes clear to them that teamwork is the fastest route to arrive at their destination, not rivalry.
4. Study Your Kids Temperament
To a large extent one’s thinking, behaviour and reactions are influenced by our temperament. Therefore, managing sibling rivalry demands that you should learn about your kid’s temperament. So you can create a conducive atmosphere for each child to avoid feuds that may result from temperament clashing. The major temperament types include sanguine—outspoken, choleric—leadership incline, melancholy—creative innovators, and phlegmatic—easy going.
Studying your kids’ temperament enlightens you the most on how to group your kids to an assignment. For instance,
the choleric me and my immediate brother who is more of a phlegmatic can’t be on the same team, because a choleric who is activity-driven will be irritated by the nonchalant attitude of a phlegmatic.
Whereas, the reverse is the case when paired with my other siblings who are more of a melancholy temperament. Likewise, a creative melancholy will be annoyed by the playful, unserious sanguine attitude.
5. Practice and Emphasis the Act of Love overall
An atmosphere of love reduces rivalry among siblings. Furthermore, boost the attitude of understanding and unity. In essence, siblings can relate friendly with each other and cooperate to achieve a given task. It’s wrong to assume that your kids know and understand how much you care and value them. Therefore, take a step further by professing your love to your kids—say it; I love you!
Also, your actions should portray love, this includes buying them gifts, allowing them to make their own decisions—stop imposing your will on your kids, remember they have a mind of their own. Most importantly, let your reaction show love like being happy when they do something great and disciplining in love among others.
6. Assign Creative Punishment when Necessary
Having understood the reason behind the opposition between siblings and detecting who is at fault. What comes next, is your ability to allocate reasonable punishment to prevent such reoccurrence. However, punishment in this context doesn’t mean violence; using sharp objects to flog a child or withdrawal of certain benefits.
In contrast, employ creative punishment such as letter writing, quantitative reasoning, or assigning household chores for kids. Furthermore, creative punishments are effective tactics to boost your child’s retention ability and enhance academic performance.
7. Rewarding Good Behaviour Reduces Siblings Rivalry
One of the ways to show approval over your kid’s behaviour is by rewarding and commending their good behaviours. In essence, whenever they relate with each other unitedly and show a great deal of understanding, they deserve to be rewarded. Ensure you let them know why they are being rewarded so they can continue on that path.
8. Ensure Your Kids are Occupied with the Needful
Oftentimes, idleness leads to opposition and hatred towards those that seem to be busy chasing their own goals. Hence, managing sibling rivalry requires that you get all your kids occupied with the needful—valuable activities. This includes developing their passion, learning soft skills, or assisting with the home chores.
Conclusion
To effectively learn the act of managing sibling rivalry, create a time when the family can come together and discuss matters. The more often this is done, everyone gets to express how they feel, understand how their other siblings think, feel, and the drive behind their behaviours. In addition, what’s your best method in managing sibling rivalry?
by Happiness Hassan | Aug 25, 2021 | Family & Parenting
A life without balance will crash. That’s why most parents, especially single parents raising a child, are prone to nervous breakdowns, mental and emotional stress. The reason is that they struggle at balancing work and family. Oftentimes, various aspects of their lives get abandoned— either their children or their personal lives get to suffer the grievous heat of these imbalances.
Consider the below story.
Awaken by the beep of their alarm after several times of pressing the snooze bottom. Mr. and Mrs. Amed hurried out of bed, behold it was already 6:50 am. In a haste, Mr Amed rushed into the bathroom trying not to miss his bus by 7:15 am. Similarly, his wife dashed into their kid’s room, unsure of what to do first; either fixing breakfast, preparing the kids for school, and making it to her office on time.
The previous day, they had returned exhausted from work by 5 pm. So, while she tried fixing dinner her husband assisted their kids in their school assignment—in a bit to enhance their academic performance. In addition, there was piled-up laundry to be done, yard work to do, and foodstuff to buy from the market. This couple had no personal time and always ended up going to bed tired. For Mr. and Mrs. Amed balancing work and family appear unachievable.
Similarly, there are numerous parents out there whose lives are turned into chaos and even worse compared to the family illustrated above. However, this article is designed to provide you with effective methods for balancing work and family.
7 Ways to Balance Full-time Work and Parenting
1. Plan Ahead to Achieve Balance
Don’t wait until the last minute of an event before you begin planning how to carry it out. Oftentimes, this attitude subjects an individual to extreme stress as they attempt to achieve a whole lot of things within a little time frame. Therefore, To balance work and family begin by having a mapped out plan of your daily activities, weekly and also monthly. This is achievable using a calendar that serves as a reminder. As a parent, become disciplined enough and stick to your set routine.
Furthermore, planning will require that you have a plan B should in case things don’t work out as planned. For instance, you woke up late as a mom, unfortunately, in the next few minutes your kid’s school bus will leave. At such an instance, it’s unproductive to prepare breakfast that would take up to an hour. In contrast, you can avert such by applying your plan B. This could be preserving cooked meals in the fridge the day you were opportune or having snacks in the house. This saves you and your kids from going late to school and work respectively.
2. To Balance Work and Parenting, Create Boundaries.
Setting boundaries is the act of knowing your limit without exceeding it. Perhaps, if you go beyond your limit, another aspect of your life will suffer from it. Therefore, at work be committed to doing your best at the activities you excel at. Avoid going for tasks that aren’t within your skills or ability. Having set boundaries prevents you from burning out before you return from work. In other words, you still have the strength to attend to your family when you return home.
Similarly, at home set boundaries to the activities, you can carry out. Perhaps, you’re disturbed about how to go about the rest of the home chores, relax as it will be discussed later.
3. To Attain Balance Learn The Attitude Of Time Management
All humans have 24hours in a day and that’s a constant factor that can’t be altered. Irrespective of your status; a full-time working parent or a part-time working parent. However, what matters most is your ability to utilize it properly. Therefore, time management Is the ability to utilize one’s time effectively doing the needful while bringing the needless to a standstill. It’s advisable to assign time length to your activities—valuable activities. To achieve this, begin by arranging your order of priority when it comes to your activities. Furthermore, your kids must be among your top priorities — it enhances the love bond between you and your kids. In addition, most of your weekends should be spent together with your kids.
Subsequently, as you plan, important events must always come first with a larger time range. Also, eliminate distractions to the minimum level and suspend other activities with little or no value. This principle makes it easier to balance work and family together as it applies to both.
4. Apply The Principle Of Division Of Labour
A common cliché “ One tree can not make a forest” is manifest in a family where only one parent attempts to carry out the whole home activities. Sooner or later that person will burn out. Therefore, if you’re wondering who would do the rest of the work when you set your boundaries? Worry less! The application of division of labor in the family makes work easier and faster. This implies that every member of the household must be assigned a task—including the kids. How? By assigning the household chores suitable for kids to your children, while you do the ones you can and assign the remains to the next agent to be discussed below.
5. Balancing Work and Family Requires an Assisting Hand
Your working schedule won’t give you the luxury of time for other activities. Therefore, hire someone to take care of those other things for you. Most especially household chores and looking after your kids while away— this should be a reliable person. However, This isn’t a weakness or portrays you as an irresponsible parent. Rather, it’s a way of preventing you from undergoing stress and managing your time most effectively. Therefore, don’t give in to self-guilt.
6. Be Bold to Discuss Your Routine With Your Children
Oftentimes, kids begin to feel abandoned when you aren’t there for them. Hence, they keep what’s bothering them secret. This attitude makes them vulnerable to bad influences from others. However, you can prevent this by discussing your work schedule with your children. Also, instruct them on how to behave while away most especially regulating their screen time. This makes them understand you better and put on good manners. If this process seems difficult for you to do then learn about the 7C’s of communication which enables you to relate better.
7. To Effectively Balance Your Work and Family Create a Me-Time
What Is Me-Time? This is the time set aside for yourself away from disturbances— a time for relaxation, reflection, and meditation. This routine is pivotal to your health because without sound health your work is unproductive. Therefore, to actualize this, be disciplined to abide by the listed principles outlined above.
Furthermore, let your work assignment end at work. For no reason should you bring them home? It hampers the flow of your me-time. However, you should fix your me-time during the weekend. Perhaps, your work deprives you of your weekend then you need to have a second thought if it’s worth it.
Conclusion
Balancing work and family is a gradual process not instantaneous. Therefore, it’s fine to miss it one or two times. With patience, you will learn the art. However, as a parent becomes too focused on a given task in time. Avoid doing multiple jobs at a time. Likewise, feel free to share with others how you’re coping. It provides you with encouragement and advice. Furthermore, eradicate the feeling of depression and ease frustration.
If you’re a parent who has struggled at balancing work and family and has overcome or is still struggling. Don’t hesitate to share your own experience in the comment section below.
by Happiness Hassan | Aug 4, 2021 | Family & Parenting
When it comes to home maintenance, kids are rarely included in the equation. In most cases, the home chores are divided between both parents alongside their regular activities or done by one parent if he/she is a single parent raising a child or someone else gets paid to do it. In contrast, there are lots of household chores for kids that parents can assign to their children to relieve themselves of some amount of stress.
Therefore, to avoid a nervous breakdown, engage in division of labour when it comes to home chores with your kids.
It’s your responsibility as a parent to provide all that your child needs to grow and thrive better. This includes meeting their financial, social, emotional, physical needs, selecting the right school for your child, enhancing their academic performance, ensuring they stay healthy with the best routine. However, to imbibe proper discipline and boost their passion for hand skills you need to learn about household chores for kids which are appropriate for their age.
In this article, you will learn more about household chores for kids below teenage age and those for teenagers.
What Are The Importance Of Assigning Household Chores To Kids?
It’s wrong to feel guilty or weak to ask your kids to help around in the house. To ensure your family is functioning properly you need to carry everyone along—including the kids. Delegation of household chores promotes unity within the family. It increases the love bond with your kids and teaches you kids more about teamwork—applicable to other aspects of their lives.
Furthermore, they learn how to become independent while away from home by solving their problems. In addition, they learn about certain skills like communication and listening skills, negotiating ability, critical reasoning, time management, organization ability, and lots more.
It’s also a way of disciplining a child positively to desist from a lazy attitude.
Household Chores For Pre–Teenagers
1. Tidying Up The House is Apppropraite for Kids
The reason why your kids disarrange the house most especially their rooms is that they don’t arrange it by themselves. Hence, they don’t know the importance of it. Tidying up the house isn’t a tedious task to accomplish. Therefore, feel free to delegate this to your kids. This includes setting their shoes and books shelves by themselves, arranging their toys, sweeping the house, and putting everything in the right order.
Oftentimes, they might not do it the way you need it, but ensure to give them guidelines to follow.
2. Assign Inside Errands to Toddlers
It might be risky to send a younger child on errands outside the home. However, they are still useful for inside errands. They are fast at delivering stuff they are asked to get. Therefore, while in the kitchen, carry them along by asking them to get things from the shelves while you cook.
While in the sitting room, ask them to bring your briefcase, file, purse, and whatever from your room.
3. Folding Laundry is an Appropriate Chores for Kids
Folding the laundry is another interesting chore for kids. So, while they can’t do the laundry, they can fold it up and place it in the right box. However, kids are always in a haste to finish folding all the laundry on time. In essence, this stage requires lots of patience with kids.
Subsequently, as they continue with it they adapt orderliness and patience as an attitude.
4. Ask Your Kids to Set Up The Table For Meal
Pre-teenagers aren’t capable of preparing a complete meal. But, they are effective in setting up the table for the meal cooked. Once you tell them how you want it placed. They are good to go! In addition, after the meal, it should be their responsibility to offload the dishes used back to the kitchen.
Also, as parents not eating together at least once a day is unhealthy for the family growth and also a parenting mistake to be avoided.
5. Placement Chores are Meant for Kids
It’s chaotic trying to place the items bought from the market in the right order after returning tired. Therefore, that’s why you have kids around you. Since they can arrange the house, certainly placing items in the right stand won’t be a difficult task for them to accomplish.
6. Kids are Good at Reminder Chores
This might appear minor to you but that’s what kids are good at—reminding you what you might have forgotten. This comes to play most especially when drafting out the list of the things you would love to buy for the household. Since kids are great observers they can notice the stuff that is exhausted and needs replacement within the home.
Household Chores For Teenagers
1. Yard Work Should be Assigned to Teenagers
Keeping the yard neat is made much easier when you have teenagers in your house. This is because teenagers are characterized by high exuberance. Therefore, they can lawn the grass without burning out compared to you as an adult.
2. Teenagers are Good for Outside Errands
In choosing the appropriate household chores for kids ensure that your older kids are allowed to carry out duties outside the household without your presence. This includes shopping for necessary items, delivering packages to a friend’s home, disposing of trash, and doing other important activities you need outside the home.
3. Ask Them to Take Care Of Their Younger Siblings
Why employ the service of a nanny while you have teenage kids at home? In contrast, employ the service of your teenage kids to look after their younger siblings while you are away from home.
It’s stress-free this way since the younger kids are already familiar with their elders compared to an outsider.
4. Assign Your Teenager Major Clean-up Work
You would do your teenage child much better by assigning them to major household clean-up chores. This way, they learn how to put their hands to work better to ensure the proper functioning of the home—applicable to other aspects of their lives.
Some major clean-ups include mopping, dishwashing, car washing, scrubbing the bathroom among others.
5. Ask Them to Assist in Preparing Meal
The best time for kids to learn how to prepare a meal is at their teenage age by assisting you in the kitchen. Fortunately, what is learned is carried into adulthood.
Therefore, allowing your kids to assist in the kitchen is one of the productive household chores for kids. It lessens the workload on you and provides them with a platform to learn.
Conclusion
Oftentimes, kids consider household chores boring and frustrating. Therefore, to encourage them to begin by being a model for them to follow. Remember, they need to see you do it first before they follow. In addition, reward and praise them after a job well done.
Furthermore, you can share other kinds of household chores you believe are appropriate for kids, in the comment section below.
