5 Helpful Tips for Teaching Responsibility to Your Toddler

It's never too early to teach your toddler to be responsible. Responsibility is one of the most essential values to develop in a child and training your kids to be responsible, as part of child care in Australia , will help establish their independence, among other values, and will definitely serve them well in the larger world when they grow up. Here are some tips for starters.

1. Begin by Giving Age-Appropriate Tasks. When deciding what tasks to give your children, it’s important to take their age into consideration. Giving them complex or difficult tasks will overwhelm them. Sure, “clean your room” may sound like a simple enough task, but if older children or even teenagers are daunted by this request, it will likely be too much for a toddler. Focus on simple chores like putting toys back in their chest or putting their shoes in the closet.

2. Manage Your Expectations. While giving them age-appropriate tasks can increase the chances of them actually doing and succeeding at the task, you should still manage your expectations. Children will mess up and that’s okay. Try not to reprimand them every time they do it wrong or forget to do it at all, instead gently remind them of what they should be doing.

3. Establish a Routine. To ensure that your kids won’t forget to accomplish their chores next time, make it a part of their routine with a reward at the end. For instance, in the morning, your child must first brush their teeth, have breakfast and get dressed before they are allowed to watch TV. While the TV is ultimately the reward, it isn’t as obvious in this scenario as it acts as the last part of the routine. You can also apply this when it comes to their school work by having them finish their homework first before dinner.

4. Praise Them for Every Job Well Done. Positive reinforcement in the form of praise will show your toddler that his efforts are appreciated. Specific praises, in particular, are crucial, as it allows them to know which task they excelled at and how their efforts have helped everyone else. A simple “good job!” is vague and doesn’t have as much impact as “Thank you for helping set the table! Now we can all eat right away”.

5. Allow Them to Do Things Themselves. As a child care provider, you may have a tendency to want to do things for your children, especially if you see them struggling with it, but try your best to resist this urge. Criticising them or doing their chores for them will only diminish their desire to help and could result in them completely relying on you. It’s best to concentrate on their efforts and phrase your suggestions in a more encouraging way rather than flat out disapproval.

Teaching kids responsibility is never easy, but you don’t have to do it alone. Enrolling your children in a creative children learning centre like Creative Childcare means they get to have responsibilities in school as well. As teachers, we aim to provide our students with not only basic education but also skills to help them succeed as they grow. Contact us today.