Raising Kids to Work Together

Last night was a gorgeous evening in our area.  As a family, we took the opportunity after dinner to tend to some much-needed weeding in one of our flower beds.  This probably doesn’t sound all that glamorous or unusual as many of us have weeds to remove in our yards, our gardens, or our landscape.  The thing that stuck out to me in this hour-long adventure is the amazing ability to have fun and to get work done together as a family.  I’m not kidding when I tell you that this whole area was covered in weeds, so when we finished up for the evening it was satisfying to stand together and enjoy the visual fruits of our labor.

Honestly, it isn’t always easy to engage our kids in this type of activity.  They are typical kids.  They occasionally fuss and complain when we ask them to help out, but they are quick to lend a helping hand more often than not.  We (and I give a lot of credit to my wonderful wife) have tried to instill the value of working together and lending a helping hand into our children.  They are expected to take care of things like collecting the eggs, taking the dog out, sweeping the floor, emptying the dishwasher, and making dinner on occasion.  Setting these types of expectations at an early age has made it easier to get them to do bigger jobs like painting the basement floor, weeding the flower bed, cutting the grass, and working on installing the patio.

Our hope is that this will be a trait that goes with them as they continue to grow into adults.  We also hope it will be a trait that is passed down from generation to generation.  (We certainly have been blessed with great examples from our parents and grandparents.)

What do your kids do around the house to help out?  How have your kids responded to requests to help?  Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your stories.

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.  Proverbs 22:6