Adolescence is a stage of great changes in personality and, often, young people transfer their inner chaos to the very room they inhabit. Laziness, a friend of poverty, as grandmothers used to say, and the permanent exhaustion of adolescents cause their interest in collaborating in housework to be nil. This is mainly due to two reasons, first, that young people do not know the benefits that an orderly space can bring them, and second, that as parents you are not organizing the tasks in the correct way.
Fighting to see who does the housework is one of the most common conflicts between siblings, young and old, boys and girls. However, it is up to the parents to assign the obligations that correspond to each child in a fair and balanced way to maintain coexistence and good harmony in the home. If you want to prevent domestic chores from falling on a single member of the family – still generally the mother – and that your children collaborate, it is essential to educate from an early age in the values ??of teamwork, effort, empathy and equality .
The assumption of affordable tasks by adolescents, regardless of gender, should be considered a natural action, and that is why you must pass on its benefits to your children. A clean room promotes mental balance, favors the ordering of thoughts and helps improve study skills. Collaboration also favors the provision of more time to spend quality time with the family or separately.
If from a young age you have taught your children to set the table or wash the dishes, surely they themselves will independently seek that order and tranquility in their personal space as they grow up. If, on the contrary, you have unilaterally taken care of giving them everything done without making an effort and you have not tried to motivate them to help you either, it is likely that they will end up becoming less prepared for adult life.
The first thing you should do is attend to their comments. Ask them how they would like their room to be and if they need anything to rearrange it. This will help them feel responsible and have enough self-esteem to undertake the tasks. Although it seems platitude, you must teach them to do those things that they do not know, without admitting excuses and arming yourself with humor. Do not forget to positively reward the attempts they make.
Planning is another essential point in order to assign tasks and frequencies for each member of the family. Try to rotate the task each week so that everyone assumes what they like the most and the least. Lead by example and avoid complaining about the laziness that makes you do certain things. Finally, if there is a task that your child gets stuck, negotiate a change before you do it, and make sure that he knows the consequences that you will impose if he does not comply with the established.
