Work in the Family

As I sit outside in the park on a beautiful day wishing I was having fun instead of doing homework, I decided to write about work in the family to try and help motivate me. I know that in the not so near future this hard work is all going to pay off, but for now it stinks!

I know that coming up with ways to get children to want to do chores and work in the home can sometimes be difficult. It is important to remember that we are responsible to teach them principles that will help them be successful in the real world one day. Working is an essential part of family life. 

All members, including the mother and father, need to take part in family work. Studies have shown that children respond best to work when their mother or father is working along side of them. No matter the age, children like to see their parents working as well. I think they like it for several reasons. The first being that it makes them feel as though their mom or dad don't feel they are above their children. The other reason is because it gives them another thing to do with their mom and dad and helps them connect better. 

Another thing we must be careful of when teaching our children about work is our attitude. When talk about work and chores like it is a burden and we hate it, that is going to be the attitude they have as well. This will often lead to protesting chores when they are asked to do some. As hard as it may be, parents need to talk about work as a joyful thing and make it seem like it is not a big deal. Our children will more likely enjoy it if we do. 

A "controversial" thing that comes along with this topic is whether or not children should be given allowance. Some people say it is okay and some people think it is a bad idea. I couldn't really find any church doctrine on it so I will just give my opinion. Personally for me, I think that allowance is a good thing and can really beneficial. When you give your child allowance, you can start teaching tithing at a younger age. (learn more about tithing) You can also teach them that if they want something, they have to save for it. This will help them understand that we can't always get what we want.

Growing up, my parents did everything they could to teach me good work ethic and I feel that I have a pretty good sense of the importance of work today. I will admit that there were times when I didn't feel like working and would give my parents a hard time, but they tried to make it fun. 

We had a chore chart at one time or another and we got a sticker when we would get something done. I liked this method and it was a rewarding feeling when I would get stickers. (Sample chore chart )

When we were older and started getting allowance, if we didn't complete all our chores for the week some of our money would get deducted. This was a really great motivation for me and it taught me that if I didn't do the work, I wouldn't get the reward. 

I don't really have too many pictures of myself working so I will just leave you with an example of work!