Years pass quickly, and your children are old enough to do some things on their own. Consider your child’s age and your parenting style and then decide what are some things you should stop doing for your kids.
Don’t just quit on them. Instead, teach them how to do those things by themselves. At first, you can help them, observe their process, and then they will be ready to do it without your help.
By letting your kids learn and allowing them to do things on their own, you are helping them build a bright future. They will be more skilled in certain areas, mature, independent, and brave. Their problem-solving skills will be at a high level, which is something very important in life.
If you agree with my advice, let’s take a look at some of the things you should stop doing for your kids.
1) Stop making them breakfast
Lunch before school is usually something easily and quickly prepared. Like cereals, salads, omelets, or maybe toasts.
All of these things can be prepared by your kids without much struggle. You can start by suggesting they make breakfast for two days a week. And during the rest of the week, they can watch and learn from you. After some time let it be three days, four, and finally the whole week.
Of course, if you know your kids have an important exam or they are really tired, let them sleep longer and prepare some breakfast.
2) Stop packing their school lunch
Now, when you’re kids are already able to make breakfast, you can teach them how to pack their school lunch.
Make sure they have everything prepared when they wake up, and they’ll know how to do it. After some time you can tell your children to cut their bread, fruit, and vegetables. But stand close to them and check how skilled they are with the knife.
By letting them make their breakfast, and pack their school lunch you’re teaching them how to function without you. So when you’re away on a business trip, or you’re visiting their grandma, you won’t have to stress if they’re hungry or not.
3) Stop making their bed
This is one of the things you should definitely stop doing for your kids. Making the bed is very simple and kids can start with it from an early age.
Make sure you explain to them that their room is something they should take care of. You can still help them clean it, but they’ll have to do some of the chores on their own. So show your children how to make their bed (because they’ll probably pretend that they don’t know how) and don’t do it for them anymore.
You can even add a little extra task, like opening the window when they wake up to let some fresh air in.
4) Stop waking them up
If there were a top list of the easiest tasks you can give your kid, waking up on their own would definitely be somewhere at the top.
They spend more than enough time on their phones and are familiar with many tips and tricks. So, setting an alarm should be a piece of cake.
Tell them you won’t be waking them up anymore, so they’ll need to learn about time management. This will help them gain another important skill.
At first, check if they woke up on time. But if you notice it’s not a problem for them, you won’t have to worry, and you can let them get up on their own every morning.
5) Stop doing their homework with them
I’m not saying you shouldn’t help your kids, it’s just that you should stop doing their homework for them.
You already finished school, there’s no need to do those math problems you really hated again. It’s one thing to sit down with your kid and help them figure out how to do their homework, and the other to do everything for them.
If you want to help them create a bright future, you’ll be their guide, but not the person who’ll solve all their problems.
6) Stop looking after their pets
Let me guess, your kids really wanted that dog, but taking him for a walk several times a day is just not their thing. And neither is feeding, bathing him, or trimming his nails.
At the end of the day, you’re the one who’s taking care of him, and your kids are the ones who are just playing. I know that you all love your dog, and nothing is difficult if it’s for him. But a little bit of help wouldn’t be so bad, right?
So explain to your kids, that having a pet requires some teamwork. Divide the obligations to every member of your household and switch every week. That’s how my family works, and every task is done perfectly.
7) Stop finding things for them
Your kids usually lose something because they just love leaving their stuff everywhere around the house. And when they do, you’re the one who needs to go on a treasure hunt, right?
Stop doing that for your kids, it will teach them to leave their stuff where they are supposed to be. And they will also learn how to do more things on their own. Give them a few options to help them figure out where that item could possibly be, but don’t go further than that.
8) Stop doing the dishes every day
Are you the one who’s doing most of the cooking in your house? Then your kids can definitely help you out and do the dishes from time to time.
Explain to them how to do it properly, so you aren’t left with half-clean dishes. And it’s a fairly easy task they can do sometimes. Then after some time, you can even make a weekly list of who does the dishes each day. That can help them improve their organizational skills.
9) Stop doing their laundry all the time
The same goes for doing the laundry. It’s one of the things you should stop doing for your kids all the time.
It’s nothing too demanding. Tell them it’s time to learn how to do it on their own. Explain that they won’t have to wait for you to come back home anymore. They will be able to turn on the washing machine and wash the T-shirt they wanted to wear.
That’s how they’ll become more responsible, and independent.
I hope you saw the benefits of sharing responsibilities with your kids. And if you want to raise some pretty awesome people, think about how letting them do some of these tasks will help them grow and become the best versions of themselves.
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