Your child can learn important lessons through responsibility around the house.
Do you have a special needs child? There are several benefits that doing chores can provide them. Giving your child with special needs some chores to do around the house can be beneficial not only for you as a parent (saving you time), but also for your child.
In fact, according to the Autism Awareness Centre, “It’s important to practice chores to work towards greater independence. Some chores can also be worked into a sensory diet. Having a child do household chores makes them feel they are contributing members of the family.”
Your occupational therapist may even recommend some chores that will help to develop fine and gross motor skills in your child. If you need some additional tips in this area, feel free to ask during your child’s next occupational therapy session.
Here are some of the best benefits to giving your child chores to do around the house.
1. It can help them build empathy and bond with the family pets.
Much of the current research has found that owning a pet can be a tremendous help for a child with special needs.
Chores such as feeding, watering, grooming, and caring for a pet will give your child patience and reinforce their bond with the animal. This, in particular, strengthens the child’s ability to work together and form relationships with others.
Be sure to give lots of praise to help reinforce this. “Look at how happy Fido is because you fed him!”
2. It can help them understand the concept of money
Paying your child for doing chores is a way to help them to understand money.
A good method is to pay them immediately for doing chores and then set a time each week when you take them to the toy store to purchase something for themselves. This helps establish the relationship between work, payment, and purchasing.
3. It helps the whole family
If your child has siblings, all of your children will benefit from chores being shared. Everyone can see that each person contributes to making the household run smoothly by doing chores that are appropriate to their age and skill level.
Also, no one will feel jealous if every child has their own chores that they are responsible for doing. Most children, including special needs children, want to help mom and dad around the house, so assigning them chores can give them a sense of responsibility and accomplishment.
4. It can help with the development of fine and gross motor skills
Many chores require the use of the arms and legs (gross motor skills), or careful manipulation using fingers and hand-eye coordination (fine motor skills). These are skills your child may already be working on in occupational therapy sessions.
Hanging a shirt on a hanger, sorting the silverware properly, and other chores can help to develop these skills, and in many cases, even help create neural connections that can help with your child’s development as he or she grows.
5. It can help them understand the importance of routine
Having an established routine can help a child on the autism spectrum a tremendous amount.
Doing chores on a set schedule – often down to the exact minute – will help them to focus better and prevent them from experiencing anxiety. Many parents of children on the autism spectrum report that having a set routine helps to avoid “the big meltdown.”
6. It can teach them some valuable skills that they can take through life
You might be surprised (or disheartened) to learn how many students enter college without the simple life skills that can be learned by chores.
Laundry, cleaning up and putting away belongings, washing dishes, and other common household chores are essential everyday habits that your child will need for the rest of their life. Never presume that a special-needs child cannot master these vital tasks; they will impress you with their eagerness to learn and assist around the house!
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These are only a few examples of how chores will help your kids. In addition to these suggestions, there are many other opportunities for your children to enhance their physical, cognitive, mental, and social skills, such as helping out around the home, incorporating a new approach into their physical therapy regimen, or entering a group that specializes on developing those abilities.
If you’d like to incorporate physical or occupational therapy into your child’s routine to aid in their growth, give us a call to make an appointment with an occupational therapist today.
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