Responsibility

Dear Parents,

I don’t know about you, but teaching responsibility to your children can be one of the most frustrating aspects of parenting. As parents, we assume that responsibility is somehow a trait that occurs naturally, but it isn’t. It is something that is learned. Here are a few tips that might help in teaching your kids responsibility and reduce your frustration as a parent.

Be clear about your expectations and stand by them calmly.

If you want your kids to be more responsible with school, with chores, or with their
sports teams then you are going to have to make your expectations crystal clear. Most
of the times we have expectations that we assume our children understand and then
when it all falls short, we blow up. Let your children know what you expect and then
stand by your expectations calmly as they learn.

Allow your kids to suffer the consequences of not being responsible.

We all tend to want to save our kids from the consequences of not being responsible,
but the only way kids and teens ever learn from their irresponsibility is to deal with the
natural consequences. Allow them to get points taken off their grade. Don’t allow them
to go to the movies if their rooms are nasty and not cleaned during the week. Let the
coach bench them when they make poor choices. Let your kids fail when they are being
irresponsible and they will start learning the benefits of responsibility.

Find hacks that help your child be more responsible.

You know your children better than anyone else so look for hacks (easy solutions) that
will help your child be responsible. Every person is unique and needs different
motivators to help them become responsible. Find what motivates them and leverage
that to help the process. Look for ways to encourage them and teach them.

I hope you found these tips useful.

Your partner in ministry,