" Oh Mom, not chores again"

I cant stress enough the importance of teaching your children good work ethics at an early age. As early as they can bend over and pick up a toy you can start training them to put it away.
This begins to teach them responsibility for their actions also. "If you take it out, you can put it away" If we make a mess we can clean it up" This is where the real training begins, not just telling them but training, showing,teaching them how by instructing them step by step until they master the skill. I think so many times children become so frustrated when we as parents "bark out" commands and expect things to be done "just so" without the proper instruction. Remember they are in training so we can't expect them to do it just like we would. It takes time, patience and practice. Practice doesn't make perfect,practice makes progress. We are doing our children a grave injustice when we do not teach them the "how too's" of everyday life skills. You can begin by typing out their daily chores based on age and ability and then put it in a place that is visible for them. It really worked well in our house when dad got involved and wrote out the chores. Something about answering to dad always makes them work a little harder. Children truly do want to please. Whether we believe it or not they do desire structure, organization and boundaries to live by. It is security for them followed by consistency that produces the desired results.
The KEY is that we are fair in our expectations. Don't forget to encourage and praise them as they make progress in mastering each required task. It may be as small as putting a book away or making their bed, whatever it is ,they need to be corrected if need be but always praised for a job well done. This doesn't always have to be verbal, you can leave a note under their pillow or in their lunch box. You will be amazed at how this kind of encouragment will change a childs attitude towards work. All because we as parents take the time to notice and make a big deal of their accomplishments. I also would encourage siblings to offer help when needed and recognize each others efforts by speaking words of kindness. This will build strong relationships between them that will carry over for a lifetime. Remember as parents we are in the "TRAINING BUSINESS". There is no greater job on earth whereby we can watch a life change before our eyes ,knowing that we had a part in shaping this once young child into a responsible, hard working adult that will always be able to take care not only of himself but also have the skills to independently provide and care for his own family in years to come. What a priceless gift we can give our children if we just take the TIME!