Our lives, especially as parents, have become stressful, exhausting, and overwhelming. One reason for that is because we have made extra-curricular activities a priority and teaching children to be responsible - due to lack of time - has been pushed to the back burner. The result is that parents are doing dishes and housework after the kids go to bed - instead of relaxing - and it feels like they're doing all the work while kids are having all the fun. 

 

Yet learning to be responsible is one of the most critical skills your kids need for their own future happiness and success. All the sports, dance lessons, chess classes, and karate will not make up for a lack of responsibility. And believe me, children don't magically become responsible when they turn eighteen. It takes years of practice to create good habits.

 

Along with contributing to the family unit, (like doing dishes, emptying the trash, and helping with housework) they should be responsible for their rooms, their backpacks, clothes, shoes, homework, sports equipment, snacks, etc. You will be shocked to calculate how much time YOU spend a week doing a hundred things for your children that they could, and should, be doing for themselves. 

 

Add up the total in all 6 boxes, multiply by 52 (weeks in a year). This gives you the number of hours in a year that you could free up time for sleep, exercise, family time, fun, your partner, friends, hobbies, or self-care - all while being a SMART PARENT and preparing your children with the responsibilities they need to learn to be happy and successful in REAL life. It's good for everyone.