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Raising Responsible Children

June 1, 2013 By Emily 24 Comments

 

 

"teaching responsiblity" "Teaching Kids"

Teaching your kids to be responsible can be a daunting task, especially if your children are as stubborn and thick-headed as their father. Okay, maybe it’s you who passed along the headstrong trait! Either way, it is important to instill responsibility in your kids early on.

Be Consistent

It’s easy as parents to see a cute, pouting face and want to cave.  Remember that your toddler is probably going to catch on to the behavior that you give in to. Don’t let them win you over, no matter how adorable they are when they tell you no. There is a huge difference between allowing them to voice their opinion and them being plain disrespectful. If you tell them to do something, mean it. There are hidden lessons in everything we ask of our children and if they aren’t getting the message at home you can guarantee they aren’t getting it at all.

Lead By Example

More than hearing, kids watch. Be the person you want them to be and they will follow suit. If you want them to take care of their things then make sure you take care of your own. Telling a child to clean up their room while you have mounds of laundry piled up will tell them having a mess of dirty clothes stuffed under their bed is okay.

Buy Them a Pet

Kids always seem to be asking for a pet of some sort. Maybe it’s not the best thing for you as it’s hard enough to find time to juggle all you have, but adding another life to their “to do” list is a great way to teach them responsibility. It can be their job to take the dog for a walk, feed the fish or clean the litter box. As an extra bonus you can teach them about being responsible with money, for example you can have them find coupons in order to buy the necessities it takes to care for a pet.

Praise their Responsibility

We all need words of affirmation from time to time. By praising a job well done you are letting them know you appreciate that they took their job seriously. Be specific when telling them what you liked. Try not to praise the things they had to be reminded to do. Instead use these compliments when they do something without being asked. For example if taking out the trash is on your child’s chore list, acknowledge them when they do it on their own.

Reward Their Behavior

It is the responsible thing for us to get up every morning and go to work. We may not want to go, but there is always a reward at the end. This should be similar to how you handle your children. This doesn’t always mean allowance or even extravagant gifts. It could be time playing video games or doing other activities that are considered recreational.

If you opt to reward with tangible items, it is a good idea to teach them the responsibility that comes along with managing money. This should always be something we teach our children, but especially if you are using material things to reward behavior. You can have them look for coupons to save on your next big purchase or tell them they have to wait for that good sale before they can have the latest gadget.

Either way, you are letting them know that paying full price is overrated and that saving money is important.

Being a parent comes with its own sense of responsibility. We are our children’s first teachers and the ones they look to as role models. If we are frivolous and afraid to commit you can guarantee that they will notice. Start when they are young and increase obligations as they get older.

  • Biography of the Author(Read Below)..
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Emily

Emily is a wife & mom living in Las Vegas. The owner and writer at Our Knight Life, Emily loves sharing her two adorable boys and journey through motherhood. Emily has run four half marathons to date and is always training for her next big race. She also enjoys creating healthy recipes for her family and sharing family friendly product reviews.

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Filed Under: All Tagged With: Children, Teaching

Comments

  1. Lisa says

    June 1, 2013 at 10:03 pm

    Great post

    Reply
  2. Kelly @ A Girl Worth Saving says

    June 1, 2013 at 11:24 pm

    So true, I forget sometimes how much my son learns from just watching me and hubs.

    Reply
  3. Maryann says

    June 2, 2013 at 3:28 am

    I don’t know about the pet thing, because I have never seen a kid actually be responsible for a pet and if I don’t do it the poor thing would die.

    Reply
  4. Jenn says

    June 2, 2013 at 6:54 am

    Check on the last three. The first two…not so much.

    Reply
  5. Kathleen says

    June 2, 2013 at 10:53 am

    Great tips, especially the one about being consistent! It is so important that they know exactly what to expect.

    Reply
  6. Tiff @ Babes and Kids says

    June 2, 2013 at 11:20 am

    I think that being consistent is definitely a key. If you aren’t, kids won’t learn responsibility and will also walk all over you.

    Reply
  7. Robin Gagnon {Mom Foodie} says

    June 2, 2013 at 3:57 pm

    Consistence & leading by example are HUGE

    Reply
  8. Angela says

    June 2, 2013 at 4:01 pm

    These are really great tips! I agree with Robin that consistency and leading by example are huge.

    Reply
  9. HilLesha @To the Motherhood says

    June 2, 2013 at 4:48 pm

    Wonderful tips!

    Reply
  10. Colleen says

    June 2, 2013 at 5:21 pm

    Great tips thanks!

    Reply
  11. Mellisa says

    June 2, 2013 at 6:10 pm

    These are great tips!

    Reply
  12. Elaina- @atimeout4mommy says

    June 2, 2013 at 6:57 pm

    Great post!

    Reply
  13. Theresa says

    June 2, 2013 at 8:22 pm

    Great tips!

    Reply
  14. Rachel @ Following In My Shoes says

    June 2, 2013 at 10:40 pm

    This is something we are working on this summer!

    Reply
  15. TerriAnn @ Cookies & Clogs says

    June 2, 2013 at 11:08 pm

    I think being consistant and leading by example are two major reasons my daughter has turned out pretty good so far. They look to us for guidance and if we don’t give it to them as parents, they’re bound to get it from somewhere else.

    Reply
  16. Tammy says

    June 3, 2013 at 8:13 am

    Being consistent is such a huge thing when parenting – if you do what you say as a parent (especially when it is a consequence to an action) your kids will know you mean business either for ‘punishment’ or ‘rewards’. Following through is so important as a parent.

    Reply
  17. Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says

    June 3, 2013 at 8:54 am

    Modeling says so much more than words will ever say. Also on money….my kids saw how hard I worked and the sacrifices I had to make in order to get out of debt several years ago. Because of that, they have a serious respect for money and are very, very careful with how they spend it.

    Reply
  18. Jennifer says

    June 3, 2013 at 8:59 am

    it’s so hard to remember that our kids learn from us. I catch my attitude all the time and think “oh crap. My daughters are going to act like this soon” if I don’t stop :/

    Reply
  19. Marcie W. says

    June 3, 2013 at 4:47 pm

    I absolutely agree with every tip given. Some days they are easier to do than others!

    Reply
  20. Sheri says

    June 3, 2013 at 7:01 pm

    I believe consistency is key!

    Reply
  21. Jenn- The Rebel Chick says

    June 3, 2013 at 7:49 pm

    Wonderful tips hun, and your little man is so darn cute!

    Reply
  22. Jennifer @ The Quirky Momma says

    June 3, 2013 at 9:03 pm

    We are really struggling with responsibility with our older children. The younger kids seem to fair much better at accepting responsibility for their actions, but the teenagers are just terrible about that right now. The deflect EVERYTHING. It’s frustrating.

    I am THAT mother that does everything for my kids, and I know that is just making things worse for them in the long run. Ugh.

    Reply
  23. Donna says

    June 5, 2013 at 1:01 pm

    We do all these…. we have an only child, so sometimes it’s easier/quicker for me to just do things myself. I have been working on doing better, though.

    Reply
  24. Toni says

    June 9, 2013 at 1:44 pm

    We do all that with ours, somedays it seems to work and I think I am doing alright…other days not so much LOL

    Reply

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