How to Make Your Child More Responsible

Treat your child with respect., Demonstrate the behavior that you want them to use., Work together with your child on behavior issues., Let your child try to do new things., Make sure that your child's needs are being met., Recognize your child when...

11 Steps 4 min read Advanced

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Treat your child with respect.

    When a child believes that you think highly of them, they will rise to meet your expectations.

    Listening to and accepting them will make them trust you and want you to be proud of them.

    It will be easy to make them behave well.
  2. Step 2: Demonstrate the behavior that you want them to use.

    If you want them to keep their promises, then keep your promises.

    If you want them to control their anger, then use breathing techniques and walk away when you feel upset.

    You can explain this out loud.

    For example, "I'm feeling very frustrated right now, so I'm going to go to my room to calm down.

    I'll come back in five minutes to help clean up this mess." Soon your child will figure out that taking a break is the way to deal with frustration, and they will start doing the same. , Talk to them about what caused the bad behavior, and what better ways you and your child could deal with it in the future.

    Acknowledge if your behavior played a role (for example, by you not listening to them saying "I'm tired") and tell them that you want to do better too. , Let your little boy try to read the difficult book on his own, or allow your disabled daughter to attempt to tie her own shoes.

    Watch over their efforts, and if they seem to be really struggling, ask if they would like help.

    If they say no, sit back and let them keep trying until they succeed or recognize that they need help and to ask for it.

    Either way, they'll be working on new skills: completing the task they attempted, or learning how and when to ask for help. , Children will behave better if they are well-fed and well-rested.

    Provide a balanced diet, give them plenty of downtime away from screens, promote exercise, and give them a healthy bedtime.

    For downtime, children can play with toys, read, do arts and crafts, talk with family members, or snuggle.

    Exercise can become a family project: go for walks, hike, play at playgrounds, go to the pool or beach, etc.

    Provide healthy snacks, and place fruits and vegetables in bowls on the dinner table that your children can grab from.

    Try carrots with dip, berries, bananas, oranges, broccoli and cheese, yogurt, etc.

    Bring your child to the grocery store and let them pick out a fruit or vegetable.

    Incorporate fruits into desserts: ice cream with fruit and chocolate sauce, strawberries dipped in chocolate, bananas with Nutella, mixed berries with whipped cream, etc. , This shows to them that you care about them, and that you notice when they behave well.

    Consider both good effort ("I noticed how hard you worked on your math problems! Good job!") and good results ("Wow, you did such a good job communicating your needs to me.

    I'm glad that you told me that you needed to leave, instead of throwing a tantrum on the floor.

    I'm proud of you!") , Example chores include making their bed, cleaning their room, doing the dishes, making lunches, feeding the cat, or taking out the trash.

    Consider your child's abilities when assigning chores; for example, a 5-year-old cannot wash dishes without dropping or breaking them. , For example, if your child does the dishes after supper, she or he gets a sticker.

    If her chart has six stickers by the end of the week, you will pay her or him.

    This teaches several skills: reliability, responsibility, and budgeting time.

    Your child will learn planning skills by deciding when to use the day off.

    Earning an allowance teaches the child to budget and save; one day, she or he will be ready to handle a monthly salary. , For example, pay your son $8 an hour for babysitting his little sister, or pay your teenage daughter $10 every time she mows the lawn. , Teach them some negotiation skills, and try role-playing with them until they feel confident.

    Then let them negotiate for their wages.

    When first assigning a duty, offer a lower pay than you want to give them.

    If they accept, say "Aren't you going to negotiate?" Then negotiate to a higher wage.

    If your child is a deep thinker, give them time before putting them on the spot.

    For example, "I'm going to consider raising your wages in two weeks, especially if you can tell me a good reason why." This gives them time to research, think it over and prepare.
  3. Step 3: Work together with your child on behavior issues.

  4. Step 4: Let your child try to do new things.

  5. Step 5: Make sure that your child's needs are being met.

  6. Step 6: Recognize your child when they do a good job.

  7. Step 7: Give your child some chores to do.

  8. Step 8: Consider giving your child an allowance in exchange for chores.

  9. Step 9: Consider giving your child wage-based work.

  10. Step 10: Let your children negotiate for raises

  11. Step 11: just like they would in a job.

Detailed Guide

When a child believes that you think highly of them, they will rise to meet your expectations.

Listening to and accepting them will make them trust you and want you to be proud of them.

It will be easy to make them behave well.

If you want them to keep their promises, then keep your promises.

If you want them to control their anger, then use breathing techniques and walk away when you feel upset.

You can explain this out loud.

For example, "I'm feeling very frustrated right now, so I'm going to go to my room to calm down.

I'll come back in five minutes to help clean up this mess." Soon your child will figure out that taking a break is the way to deal with frustration, and they will start doing the same. , Talk to them about what caused the bad behavior, and what better ways you and your child could deal with it in the future.

Acknowledge if your behavior played a role (for example, by you not listening to them saying "I'm tired") and tell them that you want to do better too. , Let your little boy try to read the difficult book on his own, or allow your disabled daughter to attempt to tie her own shoes.

Watch over their efforts, and if they seem to be really struggling, ask if they would like help.

If they say no, sit back and let them keep trying until they succeed or recognize that they need help and to ask for it.

Either way, they'll be working on new skills: completing the task they attempted, or learning how and when to ask for help. , Children will behave better if they are well-fed and well-rested.

Provide a balanced diet, give them plenty of downtime away from screens, promote exercise, and give them a healthy bedtime.

For downtime, children can play with toys, read, do arts and crafts, talk with family members, or snuggle.

Exercise can become a family project: go for walks, hike, play at playgrounds, go to the pool or beach, etc.

Provide healthy snacks, and place fruits and vegetables in bowls on the dinner table that your children can grab from.

Try carrots with dip, berries, bananas, oranges, broccoli and cheese, yogurt, etc.

Bring your child to the grocery store and let them pick out a fruit or vegetable.

Incorporate fruits into desserts: ice cream with fruit and chocolate sauce, strawberries dipped in chocolate, bananas with Nutella, mixed berries with whipped cream, etc. , This shows to them that you care about them, and that you notice when they behave well.

Consider both good effort ("I noticed how hard you worked on your math problems! Good job!") and good results ("Wow, you did such a good job communicating your needs to me.

I'm glad that you told me that you needed to leave, instead of throwing a tantrum on the floor.

I'm proud of you!") , Example chores include making their bed, cleaning their room, doing the dishes, making lunches, feeding the cat, or taking out the trash.

Consider your child's abilities when assigning chores; for example, a 5-year-old cannot wash dishes without dropping or breaking them. , For example, if your child does the dishes after supper, she or he gets a sticker.

If her chart has six stickers by the end of the week, you will pay her or him.

This teaches several skills: reliability, responsibility, and budgeting time.

Your child will learn planning skills by deciding when to use the day off.

Earning an allowance teaches the child to budget and save; one day, she or he will be ready to handle a monthly salary. , For example, pay your son $8 an hour for babysitting his little sister, or pay your teenage daughter $10 every time she mows the lawn. , Teach them some negotiation skills, and try role-playing with them until they feel confident.

Then let them negotiate for their wages.

When first assigning a duty, offer a lower pay than you want to give them.

If they accept, say "Aren't you going to negotiate?" Then negotiate to a higher wage.

If your child is a deep thinker, give them time before putting them on the spot.

For example, "I'm going to consider raising your wages in two weeks, especially if you can tell me a good reason why." This gives them time to research, think it over and prepare.

About the Author

S

Samuel Jones

Samuel Jones is an experienced writer with over 12 years of expertise in educational content. Passionate about sharing practical knowledge, Samuel creates easy-to-follow guides that help readers achieve their goals.

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