Why a Solid Chore Schedule Can Save Your Sanity This Summer. Reasons to have your child do chores during summer.
As the school year ends, I cannot wait for summer to get here and the crazy of May to end.
I think that is the Lord’s way of making us willing to take on summer, just like how the end of pregnancy completely sucks and you will do anything to get that baby out.
Just as childbirth leaves its mark, so can summer.
It seems amazing, whimsical, and lovely as we look forward to it, but as the days settle in and kids get “bored,” you start to realize summer isn’t as perfect as you thought it would be.
I love my kids! I love spending time with them and making fun memories, but summer is not 100% packed with fun times and memories.
Some days, we do nothing extraordinary. I am not only okay with that, I think that is important. I want my kids to know what “bored” feels like and know that is okay.
>>>Read: Why You Should Let Your Child Be Bored This Summer
If we want to all like each other as much as possible while staying home together all day, every day, for three months, we need some structure.
One of my favorite structure items is chores. Chores are a great item to add to your every day to keep your sanity this summer.
Here is why I love chores:
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Chores help spread the load
A person can make a lot of mess all by themselves.
Even a really, really clean person who always cleans up after himself contributes to the overall mess by wearing clothes (more laundry), eating food (more dishes), and spending time in the bathroom (it just gets dirty with use).
Let’s face it, few humans are really, really clean and always clean up after themselves. Especially the children kind.
So not only do we have the inevitable messes that come on, but we have the nice little messes left behind here and there.
When everyone helps with the chores, it helps spread the workload so not one person (ahem, Mom) is spending tons of time cleaning up after people.
I always say I want my kids to help clean up, in part, so that I have more time available to do things other than chores, including spending time with them. If I have to clean it all, I can’t spend time playing with the kids.
Chores help teach skills
Odds are high your child will one day need to do his own laundry and clean his own house.
These are life skills your child needs to learn and you will benefit your child so much by making sure that happens.
You want chores during the school year, but you can add in even more chores during summer to help focus on learning life skills.
Chores help teach responsibility
When your child has chores he is required to do and is held accountable for doing them, he learns how to be responsible.
If you have rules that chores have to be done before your child can go play with friends, and you stick to that rule, your child learns an invaluable lesson about natural consequences and how to stay on top of your own responsibilities.
Chores need to be done daily
This adds stability and structure to your days and weeks of summer. You can have something consistent about your days because chores literally never end and always need to be done.
Structure means you have days that are predictable, and that helps you keep your sanity.
Chores give you a motivational tool
Summer days can get lazy. It is easy to fall into a lazy trap and think, “I will do chores later” or “I have endless time to get that done” or “I am so bored all I can think about is electronics.”
Chores give you a tool to use to require your children to get up and moving before fun things can happen.
Helping around the house helps kids feel invested
When kids are responsible for things around the house, they feel invested and feel a sense of pride. They feel stable and like their contribution to the family matters and is significant.
Conclusion
Having a solid chore schedule can really help you maintain some consistency, predictability, and order this summer and keep you sane. Let summer be as painless as possible so those memories, however boring, can be sweet and not painful.
Related Posts
- How to Have a Fun Summer Even With a Routine
- A Beginner’s Guide to Teaching Kids To Do Chores
- Sample Summer Schedules for Kids
- Why You Should Let Your Child Be Bored This Summer
- How To Get the Most Out of Summer and Still Live a Normal Life
- Summer Planning and Preparation
- Teaching New Skills During Summer
- In Action: Planning the Summer Schedule
This post originally appeared on this blog in May 2018
