4 Ways to Fill Your Cup to a Balanced Life - Part 2
Want to catch up on our 4 Ways to Fill Your Cup to a Balanced Life series?
Learn to Delegate
The second way to fill your cup to a balanced life is to delegate!
I love my children, but boy do they make it difficult to keep a house maintained. I’m sure you have all experienced cleaning a room for 30 minutes just to see it destroyed by your children in less than a minute.
It didn’t take me long to realize that I could not maintain a home on my own. I would have to enlist those in my home to help (and occasionally I would need outside reinforcements).
As a mom, I believe I am the chief operations officer. I am not the maid! I am the one who manages the household. It is not my job to do everything for everyone—that can become overwhelming and exhausting. I believe it is my role to create a well-functioning household in which everyone contributes. So, for my own well-being and self-care, I delegate…daily. I hold those in my household accountable for doing their part.
This means if a child has the mental ability and motor skills to do a certain task, they are enlisted to help. Of course, a baby is not much help…yet. For example, the children are expected to bring their empty plates to the sink after each meal. Or after they have spent an entire day building with Legos, then they are expected to clean up the playroom.
Responsibility increases with age. There are rewards for going above and beyond normal responsibilities and consequences for not participating.
Ultimately, I want to raise children who contribute to a well-functioning household—who are independent, and not dependent on me. This will help them to become responsible adults, which I’m sure their future spouse will appreciate.
Children, even preschoolers and toddlers, are more capable than we give them credit for. And they are usually very happy to lend a helping hand especially if you turn it into a game. They obviously are not going to do a job to your standards (I had to get used to that), but practice makes progress. You get a little extra help, your children feel so proud of their work, and they learn to be responsible. It’s a win, win, win!
Take a second to think about some chores you think your children could do to contribute to your family. If you’re drawing a blank…CLICK HERE.
