• Books
    • Chaos to Clutter-Free
    • 101 Time-Saving Tips for Busy Moms
    • 28 Days to Timeliness
  • Start Here
  • Sign Up

Davonne Parks

  • Room by Room Organization
    • Bed and Bath
    • Kid Spaces
    • Kitchen
    • Laundry
    • Living & Family Areas
    • Office and Art
    • Storage and Outdoors
  • Cleaning Inspiration
    • Homemaking Encouragement
    • Cleaning Tips and Tricks
    • My Fixer Upper
    • My Messes (Before & After)
    • Reader Q & A
  • Home Management
    • Crafts and Decor
    • Easy Recipes
    • Finances
    • Holidays
      • New Years
      • Valentine’s Day
      • Patriotic
      • Thanksgiving
      • Christmas
    • Time Management 101
  • Self Care
    • Book Recommendations
    • How to Care for Yourself
    • Jesus
      • Bible Reading
  • Caring for Others
    • Friendship
    • Parenting
    • Marriage

How to Get Your Kids to Willingly Pitch in With Chores

Cleaning Encouragement· Kid Spaces· Reader Q&A (Your Messes and Successes)

3 Apr

I’ve been mulling over this question for awhile, wanting to answer, but afraid to say the wrong thing. And then last week I told you that while I may not have the perfect answers, I’m going to do my best to help, to encourage, and to inspire.

I promised to stop backing away from the hard stuff.

pitchinchores

So here we go.

“I am a stay at home mom and I do understand that it’s my job to take care of the home. However, am I wrong to say that it’s the entire household’s job also to keep the house standing? I just feel as if I get taken for granted. How do I change this? Can I change this? I can’t keep the house going on my own.

“How do I get everyone to realize that I just did the dishes and the respectful thing to do is to clean your dish so the sink is once again clean? That way one dish doesn’t lead to another then another and another… next I have a sink full of dirty dishes once again.

“Your blog has given me some faith that maybe you could help!” – Danielle

Danielle, thank you for your kind words and for your patience in waiting for an answer! I’m not responding to this question as the queen-of-having-perfect-little-helpers. Not at all.  I’m answering your question more as an “I’m right there with you!”

Throughout my nearly ten years of motherhood, I’ve worked part time in an office, worked from home, stayed home completely, and am currently working full time outside the home. Switching gears so many times has taught me that while the dynamics of who does the most housework may change from season to season, the underlying issue is this:

We are training our children for adulthood.

trainingourchildren

The answer to your question isn’t the perfect chore chart or some sort of amazing super-secret method. In fact, the answer isn’t really an answer at all – it’s simply more questions:

Are you speaking to your children’s hearts? Are you taking the time to teach them why taking care of a home is important? When the sink is full of dirty dishes, what is your response? Are you frustrated while you wash them yourself or are you using that opportunity to gently call your children in so you can work on the dishes together? Are you teaching them that they’re blessed to even have dishes?

Yes, we are to be good stewards of our possessions. And yes, stay-at-home moms should generally be doing a larger portion of the housework than a woman who works full-time outside the home. But the hard truth is that if we feel like we’re being taken for granted, it’s a sign we’re bearing too much of the load on our own.

Training takes time. It’s hard, discouraging, and repetitive work. But eventually, the training sinks in. It pays off. And though it may not feel like it right now, your children will eventually notice. And it may happen sooner than you think.

Proverbs 31:27-29 “[The virtuous woman] looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her, saying: “Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.”

What encouragement and kind advice do you have for Danielle as she works to help her children develop good housekeeping habits?

Make Your Home a Haven

    You’re only 10 days away from a haven at home. This FREE email course will help you get there.

    During our time together, I'll teach you how to implement specific processes and systems so you can make immediate progress.

    If you want to stop feeling stuck at home so you can be ready for whatever God has in store for you, sign up now.

    Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

    There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

    I won't send spam. Unsubscribe anytime. Powered by ConvertKit

    6 Comments

    « 3 Simple Housekeeping Tips to Inspire Busy Parents
    The Best Housekeeping Reminder You’ll See This Year »

    Comments

    1. Jane says

      April 27, 2015 at 8:08 pm

      I occasionally have my children set the table, make their beds and put away the clothes I fold for them. I actually just started giving them chores and it has definitely taken some of the load off of me.

      Reply
      • Davonne says

        April 28, 2015 at 11:53 pm

        Those are great basic chores, thank you for sharing! I often think it has to be all or nothing, so taking a more basic approach like you suggested has helped a lot!

        Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Why I Hated Chore Charts, Plus a FREE Printable says:
      April 29, 2015 at 10:47 am

      […] If chore time with your children often feels like an impossible battle, I highly recommend reading this post about how to get your kids to willingly pitch in with chores. I can guarantee the answer is not what you […]

      Reply
    2. Dear Mom Who Stinks at Housekeeping (and a HUGE Mother’s Day Giveaway!) says:
      May 1, 2015 at 11:55 am

      […] for granted as you clean up after your family members again, then definitely take a minute to read how to get your kids to willingly pitch in with chores. If we’re not making the messes by ourselves, then we shouldn’t be cleaning the messes […]

      Reply
    3. 6 Tear-Free Ways to Get Kids to Clean {Plus Your Summer Reading List!} says:
      May 26, 2015 at 10:42 am

      […] time to train our kids than it takes to clean something alone, but we need to remind ourselves that we’re training our little ones for adulthood and if we want them to succeed later, we need to teach them […]

      Reply
    4. Dear Messy Housekeeper {There is Hope for Your Home}: 5 Tips from a Fellow Mess-Maker says:
      May 12, 2016 at 11:43 am

      […] as you repeatedly clean up after your family members. If so, then definitely take a minute to read how to handle the heart issues at chore time as well as this article that has 6 practical tips for teaching kids to willingly help […]

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    FREE Email Course

    Make Your Home a Haven

      You’re only 10 days away from a haven at home. This FREE email course will help you get there.

      During our time together, I'll teach you how to implement specific processes and systems so you can make immediate progress.

      If you want to stop feeling stuck at home so you can be ready for whatever God has in store for you, sign up now.

      Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

      There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

      I won't send spam. Unsubscribe anytime. Powered by ConvertKit

      Search this Website

      A Note from Davonne

      Hi! Are you weary from accomplishing the same, seemingly invisible tasks every day and wondering if what you do really matters? I was. If you need to believe, deep in your soul, that your role at home is valuable, then you've come to the right place. Read More

      Connect on Social Media

      Featured Freebies

      • 101 Time-Saving Tips for Busy Moms eBook
      • Making Your Home a Haven email course
      • Printable Encouraging Notecards
      • Printable Verses to Teach our Children
      • Printable Snowman Soup Poem
      • Reader Q&A
      • Tidy Up Club on Facebook

      Instagram

      No images found!
      Try some other hashtag or username

      Copyright © 2021 · Refined theme by Restored 316