Chores – Let Go of Perfectionism – mops.org

MUM-e-Mail

To equip and encourage
mothers of preschoolers and their supporters

October 2008

Mother Maxim

We need to start as we intend to continue on.

 

Mother Moment – Learning through Responsibility

Children can happily help around the house, hanging the ‘smalls’ on a peg hanger or shaking floor mats. Motivating children to help with housework may be a challenge, but it can be done without screaming, bribery, or tears.

There are benefits. It is not slave labour. Sharing the chores is so important for their feeling useful, learning increasing responsibility, and building their self esteem. Plus it helps the family “team”.

Your child may only be two years old, but what skills will you need to train them in before they leave home? What sort of marriage partner do you want them to be?

Maybe by 17, they might need to be able to cook, clean, run a flat, pay bills, whilst studying at same time.

What skills will they need to hold down a job? The short answer : honest, reliable, trustworthy, punctual (from my time working for Employment Service).

Yep! Attitude to life and people is worth more than qualifications. People are more likely to lose a job over mental health or personal ethics issues than not having the right qualifications, especially in this fast-changing world. The jobs your current preschoolers will do probably haven’t even been thought of yet.

So, train your children character qualities like responsibility, respect, obedience, generosity, gratitude, godliness, timeliness.

All this from doing household chores! Teach your children well.

 

Mother’s Heart

Lord, help me to let go of control and perfectionism. It isn’t always “just quicker to do it myself”, as the Big Picture tells a different story. Sometimes my children’s long-term gain comes from my short-term cost. I can give my children gifts of participation in a team and completing a task well in exchange for a less-than perfectly cleaned house.

From Last Time :

Key words list for sorting the family meals : core recipe set, food colour variety, freezer, cook-once-eat-twice, no sachets, peel-your-own vegetable soup, set dinner table, caring family conversations.

MOPS Link

¬     http://www.mops.org/survey/hp_results.php?id=189 - Have ya ever wondered what other mother’s think? See the weekly-changing MOPS International polls. Click on a question for the results. Vote, even.

¬     www.mops.org.nz/groups/ - groups around New Zealand. Do you want to start one in your area?

¬     Contact info@... for a MOPS new group enquiry pack.

Looking to the Big Picture,

Johanna W

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