Hello Beautiful » chores

How To Raise Little Helpers

Hello Beautiful — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:00:34 +0000

(From shine.com)

The house is a mess. You’re exhausted and the kids are running all over the house because they have nothing to do. Does it feel like your kids follow you around the house creating messes where you just cleaned one up?

It’s time for family chores.

“The family that cleans together, stays together” may be pushing it, but it’s important that your children learn responsibility and how to take care of themselves.

Preschool children are fully capable, ready and excited to be grown up and help out. Some good starter chores are setting the table for dinner, clearing their dishes at the end of the meal, putting toys away after playtime, pulling the covers up on their bed and making it, putting their laundry away (jeans go in this drawer, shirts are hung up here and the dirty laundry goes in the hamper each night).

Keep the tasks around 10 minutes or less. They don’t have to be huge or really detailed. After about 10 minutes, even the most dedicated preschooler will begin to lose interest, and it will turn into a battle instead of a chore. Also, make sure they participate in a chore every day to build a routine. This routine will help keep your child motivated and returning to a chore.

Remind yourself that you are building self-confidence, motivation and a sense of belonging in your child. Your child can be a functioning, active member of the family if they join in the chore work. And although it’s true that a chore for the kids is also a chore for you to keep them going with it, it’s worth the effort. Because before you know it, you could have kids who actually help around the house.

Here are some ways to include your children in chores around the house:

Build an old-fashioned chore chart. List everyone in the family and give them some weekly jobs around the house. If everyone earns enough stars or happy faces, the family can earn an ice cream or movie night. Or keep it inexpensive and earn a day at the park or a game night.

Make clean-up time a game. How many Legos can you put into the box? Can you pick up more stuffed animals than I can in 5 minutes?

How to create an active lifestyle for your kids

Do You Treat Your Husband Like A Child?

Black & Married With Kids — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:00:58 +0000

My co-worker and I were talking about how we wanted our husbands to help us around the house – and with the kids – more.

She told how her husband surprised her by making dinner, cleaning up the kitchen and then taking out the trash.

“I totally went overboard with the praise,” she said. “I was literally clapping my hands and praising him like I do with our son when he pees in the toilet. I was all, ‘Good job! I’m so proud of you!’”

We laughed about how hard we praise our husbands in an effort to get him to do more of what we want – but maybe I realized she was on to something. No man wants to be treated like a child, but what if we showed the same enthusiasm to our spouse that we show to our kids whenever they do something they think is noteworthy?

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Do You Ask Your Son-In-Law For Too Much?

Black & Married With Kids — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:55:58 +0000

Is your cell phone always ringing with a family member by marriage on the line? Does your wife lean heavy on you to get the job done for the in-laws even though there are plenty of able bodied men around – relatives, in-laws and otherwise? In your own family, are you the one everyone calls because they know: 1) you’re gonna pick up the phone; 2) you can’t say no; and 3) not only do you come through, you go above and beyond what is asked of you…every time, all the time? And if you’re one of these men, doesn’t it get tiring? Don’t you just want to tell everyone to go somewhere? Every once in a while wouldn’t it be nice for someone to do something nice for you? But then you realize, they’re too busy asking you for stuff to be bothered offering themselves to you.

It’s not easy being a son-in-law on speed dial. These men are forced to walk the thin line of not wanting to disappoint but not being taken advantage of in the process…

To read the rest of this article, go to BlackandMarriedWithKids.com. Do you find yourself taking advantage of your son-in-law without even knowing it? Are you a son-in-law who feels like he’s doing too much for his other family? Tell us!

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How To Get Him To Do What You Want

Deborah Bennett, Senior Editor — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:20:05 +0000

We’ve all heard the saying “You can’t change a man,” well the folks at cosmo.com says you can train them, and it comes from an unlikely source: animal trainers.

We know you so want in on this. That’s why Cosmo uncovered time-tested methods used by the most successful animal trainers on the planet. Then we got top psychologists to show you how to apply those techniques to your guy.

Would you change for a guy?

Read on and you will soon be able to teach him some new tricks

BOYFRIEND BUMMER 1: He’s Allergic to Chores
Indulge His Playfulness

As Used on Chimpanzees
These primates are big mischief makers, so getting them to calm down can be a real bitch. Luckily, if you indulge their silly side, you have a good shot at getting them to pay attention. “When we need the chimps to perform a task, we get on their level and play with them for 5 or 10 minutes,” says Eugene Cussons, rescue director on Animal Planet’s Escape to Chimp Eden. Once they’ve had some fun, they’re more willing to heed commands because they instinctively know it’s their turn to return the favor.

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Apply It to Your Guy
No matter how old they are, men never quite lose touch with the playful, naughty boy within. Too bad they often pick the worst times to bring out that brat – like when you’re running late for work or need them to do something around the house. To get what you need done, “indulge him with a few minutes of acting goofy,” says Anthony Riche, PhD, author of Finally! How to Stop Dating Losers Forever. Then tell him you’ll finish playing with him later, as long as he takes out the trash or does whatever else you need him to do. Since his mind and body are now surging with feel-good chemicals from your brief, fun exchange, he’s less likely to wrinkle his nose at the request, says Riche. Use this technique consistently and, over time, he’ll be less likely to associate chores with drudgery.

Click here for more tips.

Should Men And Women Do Different Chores?

Black & Married With Kids — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:35:10 +0000

In order to help the greater good, I’ll give you a peek into my marriage and see exactly what we’re doing wrong so you can get it right.

Example:

Last week, I finally decided to mention to my husband that the oil change light in my car was on. I told him it had been on for about a week and that he needed to take my car to get the oil changed after he got home from work. I’d watch the kids and make dinner and by the time he got back, dinner would be ready.

Now, I admit, when I got married I had some preconceived notions of how everything was supposed to go down. Who would cook dinner (me), who would wash the cars (him), who would do the kids’ hair (him…LOL). Getting the oil changed in the cars is CLEARLY one of those “man” things I expected him to do…

Are certain things a “man’s job”? Read the rest of the article at BlackandMarriedWithKids.com and let us know!

Do you and your husband have separate chores? Here’s how to get him to do housework!

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