Parents have given their children responsibility around the home for as far back as history can remember. While having their children help with household tasks can decrease the number of work parents have, it’s also a prime opportunity to teach them valuable life skills. Teens especially need those life skills, as they near an age where they will strike out into the world on their own.
Glendalyn Fodra, a devoted mother of two, is no stranger to the fortitude and commitment it takes to raise a family. Mrs. Fodra acknowledges that certain life skills can prove more valuable than others, and choosing a teenager’s chores with a purpose can help parents be confident they’ve taught those all-important lessons.
Glendalyn Fodra’s five chores listed below, in particular, have great value for teenagers.
- Babysitting
Having your child babysit their younger siblings or younger children nearby can help teach them how to care for others. This is an important life skill that should be learned by both genders and not only females. Caring for others will not only help solidify self-care skills but can be used in a wide range of potential careers, from waitressing and nursing to teaching and social work.
- Cooking Meals/Snacks
Everyone must eat, and knowing how to cook meals or prepare snacks is vital. Knowing how to boil water and use the microwave might ensure teenagers are fed once on their own, but it will not allow them a proper diet.
Parents should teach children how to cook different meats, cut veggies, and what a proper meal consists of. Teens should be allowed to hone these skills, both supervised and unsupervised. Allowing teenagers to prepare one simple meal a week can help them hone their skills.
- Dishes
Just as people will always need to eat, there will always be dishes to do. Having teenagers do dishes once or twice a week can help them learn the proper way to wash different dishes.
Although doing the dishes sounds like a simple task, it isn’t as cut and dry as most assume. Ensuring dishes are clean is vital for health reasons, and knowing how to get difficult items clean (like those with stuck-on food) is a learned skill.
- Laundry
Being taught how to do laundry will ensure your teenager always has clean clothes when they have their own home. Parents can first teach teens how to separate their clothes by color, how to properly use different machine settings and the right way to fold various types of clothing.
Once these skills are mastered supervised, teens can be held responsible for washing their own clothes, or for doing the family laundry once a week or bi-weekly.
- Assisting with Grocery Shopping
Allowing teenagers to assist with grocery shopping teaches them about managing finances, which will be vital when they have to pay their own bills and purchase their own food. Parents can have their teens assist with making a list, based on what is needed in the household, and how to shop for sales. Older teens who have a driver’s license can also be allowed to carry out small grocery trips on their own.
Conclusion
The chores listed above can help teach teenagers valuable life skills they’ll use in their adult lives. Having a child assist with these tasks can also make life easier on the parents, for those days when there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day.
About Glendalyn Fodra:
Glendalyn Fodra selflessly devotes all her time and efforts to caring for her patients, family, and friends. Her main goal is to help everyone around feel better and to provide a superior level of care and support. She is a devoted wife who enjoys taking care of the household and her children. She also volunteers with her youngest son’s swim meets and swim league during the summer.