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7 Ways to Raise a Responsible Child
Instilling independence and honesty in your child.
Responsibility is a crucial skill for children to develop at home. It can pave the way for success in school and in life. Everyday household skills -- like doing laundry, shopping, paying bills, and cleaning -- can teach a child to be independent. When a child leaves your home with these skills, he'll be more self-confident and self-sufficient. Here are seven ways to instill responsibility in your child:
1. Teach your child to be self-sufficient. Little by little, encourage her to pick out her own school clothes, get up on time, prepare her own breakfast, make her own bed, do her own homework, and pack and unpack her own backpack.
2. Give your child chores at home. Taking charge of a job that helps the whole family -- such as setting the table, throwing out the trash, or sorting laundry -- teaches a child how to be part of a larger team.
3. Teach your child about the value of money. Next time you go to the grocery store, take your child with you. Walk around the store together, showing them where to find the price and how to use the money wisely. On the next trip give them a pile of coupons and tell them to find each item that's on the coupon and bring it back to your cart.
4. Communicate with your child's teachers Make sure your child knows that whatever behavior she exhibits in school will get home to you. Hold your child responsible for both her grades and her actions. Be sure to read everything that comes home in your child's backpack -- including homework, graded papers, special projects, school newsletters, and notes from the teacher.
5. Expose your child to bills, checks, and bank accounts. If you have old blank checks, have your child practice filling them out. Show them what a bill looks like and how to address an envelope to send it. To balance a checkbook, simple addition and subtraction skills are required -- why not assign your 8-year-old this task? (Of course, you'll want to double-check it.)
6. Coach your child on resourcefulness. Being resourceful means taking on challenges, taking the time to think through those challenges, and then using available resources to solve them. Developing resourcefulness shows a child how to be a proactive participant in the world around him.
7. Don't make excuses for your child. All children are capable of misbehaving -- and of learning from their mistakes. Make sure your child pays the price of her misbehavior. These short-term punishments will pay off with a more responsible child.
Additional reporting by Ann E. LaForge, author of What Really Happens in School (Hyperion, 1999).
Source: 365 Ways to Raise Great Kids by Sheila Ellison and Barbara Ann Barnett, PhD, (Sourcebooks, Inc., 1996)
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