Doing household chores prepares children for life!
Experts say that the focus and attention skills of children working on any manual skill and the capacity to maintain these skills increase and develop over time, and that when children complete a handicraft, children both enjoy completing it and their feelings of self-efficacy are reinforced.
Noting that it is possible to include children in almost all daily routine work at home, Child Development Specialist Asst. Prof. Pınar Demir Asma stated that "Children can perform tasks such as making the bed, cooking, preparing breakfast, creating a shopping list, and growing plants under the supervision of an adult."
Üsküdar University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Deputy Head of Child Development Department, Asst. Prof. Pınar Demir Asma touched upon the development of hand skills in children.
Handicrafts made in schools and at home contribute to the mental development of children
Noting that the development of hand skills in children is very important as it offers a pleasant option to support the development of children in many other aspects as well as physical development, Asst. Prof. Pınar Demir Asma stated that "Handicraft activities in schools and at home provide support to children in various aspects and provide them with skills. The synchronized movement of the hand and eye strengthens the coordination between the hand and the eye. Two hands working in coordination work different parts of the brain. It creates diverse and new mental connections. This contributes to the mental development of children."
The focus and attention skills of children working on manual dexterity increase
Stating that the focus and attention skills of children working on any manual dexterity and the capacity to maintain these skills increase and develop over time, Asst. Prof. Pınar Demir Asma continued her remarks as follows:
"A sense of duty develops. Continuing the unfinished handiwork that children could not complete today contributes to the development of children's sense of duty. When a child completes a handicraft, they both experience the pleasure of completing it and strengthen their sense of self-efficacy. The fact that children sees materials of different colors, shapes and sizes while doing handicrafts also forms the basis for children's mathematical skills. It supports children's creativity skills to imagine and realize any new handicraft product he wants using different papers, materials, colors and shapes."
Kids can create the shopping list
Addressing the issue of children doing housework at home, Asst. Prof. Pınar Demir Asma expressed that "It is important for children to do housework at home because the environment where children feel the safest and most comfortable is their home. It is possible to involve children in almost all daily routine chores in the house. Children can perform tasks such as making the bed, cooking, preparing breakfast, creating a shopping list, and growing plants under the supervision of an adult. Being able to do all these tasks contributes to the preparation of children for life by providing many benefits such as taking responsibility for children, creating order, self-worth, developing self-care skills, and gaining social skills."
Parents should be good role models for their children
Pointing out that there are some points that the family should pay attention to while children are doing housework, Asst. Prof. Pınar Demir Asma stated that "The family should present all these to children not in an oppressive way, but by gamifying them and in the game because children’s language of communication is play. In the choices and preferences made in housework, children should be supported to make decisions on his own, and his creativity and ideas should be respected. This will support children's ability to make decisions and take responsibility on their own. Children should be appreciated and valued after the household chores they perform, and criticism should be avoided. Finally, parents should not discriminate against gender in their children's participation in housework, adopt an egalitarian attitude, and parents themselves should be an example and good role models for their children."
Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)