Joey and Carla Link
October 16, 2024
When our kids did their chores, as their parent, it was easy for us to grade their effort in our mind. We would ask them to give themselves a grade when they were finished, and most of the time they agreed with what we mentally gave them. Do you ever wonder what grade your kids would give themselves for their effort doing chores and other tasks? Having them do this is a good way to motivate them to push themselves harder the next time. If they got a grade lower than an “A” or “B”, they had to go do the chore/task again. Our kids graded themselves in these areas:
· Did they do the job completely?
· Did they do the job the way they had been instructed to?
· Do they do the job (chores/schoolwork) on their own initiative?
· Did they work with a good attitude?
Carla and I found having our kids grade themselves was the best way for us to keep from falling into the habit of looking for what they didn’t do and lecturing them for it. We shared what grade we gave them after they told us what grade they gave themselves. On the whole, we were often easier on them than they were on themselves.
Our kids gave themselves “A’s” through “F’s” and kept a monthly chart of both their regular chores including schoolwork and added additional tasks they were instructed to do as well. If they got lower than a “B” on any one of the points listed above, they would write down one way they were going to work on it that week and put it somewhere they would see it each day.
Off and on over the years, we would asked our kids why it was important for them to give a chore their best effort, especially in attitude. Wasn’t it good enough to get the job done? Why on earth would they need to have a good attitude as they did it?
We talked about the expectations of employers when they got jobs of their own. We asked our kids why anyone would want to hire someone who thought doing the job their way was better than the employer’s way? Why would anyone want to hire someone who did the bare minimum on the job instead of giving it their best effort? Why would anyone want to pay someone who kept stopping what they were doing to look at their phone to see if they got a text? I surely would not want to pay someone I had hired to do a job if they whined and complained about it to other co-workers or his/her friends.
A good verse at this point for kids to memorize is Colossians 3:23:
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,
as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”
When kids grade themselves on their chores each day, they are learning to manage their own work ethic which will impact many areas of their lives.
While it’s a lot easier to threaten, remind and lecture our kids into doing a better job while they are working, it rarely teaches kids anything nor changes their long term behavior. Instead, find ways to encourage and praise them when they do a good job and in times of non-conflict, give them steps they can do to improve.
Leave a Reply