Super Heroes are RESPONSIBLE
Responsible
Thats a tough word even for adults sometimes. Have you ever said ” I am through adulting today…” Basically that means you are through being responsible. Determining what level of responsibility each child is ready for is different for each child. How do we ” teach ” responsibility to preschoolers appropriately? I think the first thing is we model it. When we make good choices they learn it’s important. The second thing we do is give them reminders before ” being responsible ” gets too overwhelming. Its a lot easier to pick up the toys in your room when there are 5 on the floor than when you can’t see to walk from toys that are strewn.
Today we played a game . I called out situations and they raised their hand if they thought it was responsible. To name a few …
- Picking up your toys .
- Helping a friend that has fallen down.
- Hurting someone
- Calling someone names.
- Taking care of toys not to break them.
Another way to teach responsibility is to give children little chores. For this age group things that are appropriate are : ( From Choresandchecklist.com )
Taking care of themselves:
Get dressed
Brush hair
Brush teeth (with supervision)
Taking care of their stuff:
Hang up coat
Put shoes away
Put their dirty clothes in a hamper
Put their toys away
Clean their bedroom with help
Helping cook:
Help with meal prep
Help stir
Help wash vegetables
Helping clean up in the kitchen:
Wipe sink
Put napkins on table
Clear table (maybe use a “bus bin”)
Put away silverware
Put dirty dishes in a “bus bin”
(a “bus bin” can be just a plastic crate that can be used to carry dishes to or from the table–it’s much easier for little hands to consolidate!)
Other random chores:
Empty trash baskets
Put pet food in dish with help
Anything you can think of that seems right for your child!
Having chores for 2 year olds and 3 year olds really lays the groundwork for responsible kids. Most kids will rise to the expecations given to them, and will feel valued because of their efforts to help the family. Age appropriate chores are only the beginning
We also read a book called ” We Are All Super Heroes.” We colored it too !
