If there is one thing that exhausts families in their daily lives at home, it is having to repeatedly tell their children to fulfill their obligations. Let them take responsibility for their tasks without Mom or Dad having to repeat it to them like a broken record. An irresponsibility that creates many conflicts and bad moods when living together and causes great exhaustion in parenting.
Homework at school, tidying up the bathroom after showering, keeping a minimum of order in the room, doing homework or setting the table properly before starting to eat are some of the tasks that children or young people only have to do difficult to take over.
More information
Responsibility is one of the most important values that families must instill. It is a long and expensive process that requires a lot of patience and trust. It means not doing for children what they are perfectly capable of doing themselves, although in many cases this means things are done much slower than expected and with poorer quality. A long-term task that helps children and young people develop social and personal skills and build good relationships with those around them. This will teach them to go for what they want and work hard until they get it.
Being responsible means being committed, persistent, and fulfilling all obligations on time without relying on others to remind you or demand anything from you. It is the ability to accept the consequences of one's own actions and decisions while striving for one's own good and the common good. For a child to take responsibility, he or she needs adults who trust him, who help him gain self-confidence through recognition of his own abilities, who explain to him that mistakes are an essential part of the learning process, and who give him gifts of time to help him Learning is needed.
Responsibility is acquired gradually according to each child's evolutionary development through imitation and recognition of others. There are several factors that influence acquisition: the educational model in which the child is raised, the personality of each individual or the level of sophistication of the adults who accompany them.
A responsible child will have the necessary tools to build a good identity, he will be confident, he will have good self-esteem, he will be able to decide what to do when and to think about it before acting Make decisions. He will be a person who enjoys everything he does and who recognizes his mistakes without being ashamed.
On the other hand, if a child is not responsible, he will have great difficulty knowing what to do or what not to do, he will be very dependent on adults and will not accept their setbacks. He will be an anxious and suspicious person who has difficulty establishing healthy social relationships and will always blame others for his problems.
For this reason, families should give their children responsibilities at home from an early age, so that they develop the value of effort and perseverance, feel like an important part of the family, and help them develop planning and work strategies. .
Keys to teaching a child responsibility:
The best thing that can happen to a child is to feel responsible and protagonist of their own life. Being able to achieve what you want by working every day until you achieve your goals. This allows the minor to take risks, look for alternatives to difficulties and recognize his mistakes. As Winston Churchill said, “The price of greatness is responsibility.”
Sonia Lopez Iglesias She is a teacher, educational psychologist and educational facilitator as well as the mother of two teenagers.
You can follow Mamas & Papas on Facebook, X or sign up here to receive our bi-weekly newsletter.