By Sarah Chana Radcliffe
How can you get your child to remember to do his tasks?
When a child has a task to do (take out the garbage, do his homework, set the table or whatever, resist the urge to remind and prompt and remind and nag and remind and remind! Such behavior on your part only teaches the child that he doesn’t need to make the effort to remember or schedule his tasks since YOU are clearly so willing to carry those burdens. In reality, the more you forget about your child’s responsibilities, the more he’ll remember them. (Obviously, if he has a deficit in this area due to some mental health condition, get him the remedial help he needs.) When he fails to remember, set up consequences that he’ll have to deal with. Let the consequences help sharpen his memory.
Sometimes parents stress excessively over this option or that one, feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders...
In parenting, you should try - but don’t try too hard. The outcome is not solely up to you and you are only one of many factors. Do your best but put aside all notions that any one thing you do or don’t do is going to make all the difference in your child’s future. Making endless small positive choices over decades of childrearing will leave their positive mark - and that’s all you can or should do.
