Jake shoveling the gravel
A Saturday afternoon; the entire family in the backyard, my boys and I were shoveling gravel into a wheel barrel to transport to the patio we are building. It was hard work but we all did our share and that pile was gone in one hour! We worked together and had fun doing it as a family.
This was the first time all of my children were old enough to help with a big job. Jake is only 6 years old and he only lasted for a little while but he did what he could do. When we were finished I pointed out to my children that the pile was completely gone. I talked to them about the sense of accomplishment you feel when a job is well done.
My husband and I had a discussion about how important a good work ethic is in today’s world. There are so many teen agers and young adults that don’t want to work or to actually put for any effort at all. We want our children to work hard at what they do and try their best in all things. We don’t expect perfection, we expect effort and heart. That’s what our parents taught us and that’s what made us hard workers.
In this day and age it is easy to say “Just let the kids stay inside and play video games or watch a show while we do the work. I don’t want to fight them.” But it is only doing your child a disservice because one day they will have a job and a boss and they will be expected to put forth effort. They have to learn work ethic from you or they won’t have any at all.
Give your children some responsibility and work to do so they can have a sense of pride in their own accomplishments and their work. It is one of the best lessons your child can learn from you.
Agreed! 🙂