Responsibility In Children: How Do You Encourage It?

Responsibility in childhood allows children to develop their personal autonomy. It involves having tasks or objectives and committing to them, and becoming aware of the consequences of your actions. How can we increase responsibility in children based on their age?

In this article we are going to talk about the development of personal autonomy and play. They are in fact closely linked. For the youngest children, we look at their age, from two to ten years.

In addition, we will suggest some examples of tasks that you can assign them. We also do this depending on their age, to stimulate their sense of responsibility.

Responsibility in children: how do you encourage it?

Here are some ideas for working on responsibility in your children or students based on their age. Check it out and find out what you think!

Responsibility in two- to three-year-olds

According to experts, the tasks that children of these ages can and should perform should always be supervised by an adult. At the age of two or three, a child still does not understand whether it is doing things right or wrong. They act by following orders or prohibitions. This means that they do not yet have self-control at these ages.

Examples of tasks to increase the responsibility of very young children include:

• clean up toys with the help of an adult
• put on pajamas
• water the flowers
• clearing the napkins at the end of a meal

Three to four years old

As they get older, the responsibilities you can give children for their personal autonomy change slightly.

Children between the ages of three and four observe adults a lot and mainly imitate their behavior. On the other hand, their interest in playing with other children is growing. In addition, at this age, they act on the rewards (reinforcements) and punishments they can get.

It is an age when children can start doing things for themselves and keep their things tidy, for example. What tasks can you give them at this age? They can help set the table and you can encourage them to dress and undress themselves. You can also teach them to share things, take turns, clean up toys on their own, etc.

Responsibility in children aged four to five

At this age, the child still observes and imitates adults. However, they still need to be supervised. The desire to please and help appears, and this can be beneficial when it comes to choosing tasks to increase their responsibility.

In addition, the child will already show certain initiatives as a result. This could include wanting to sleep alone, dress alone, play alone, or do some chores in the family environment.

Examples of tasks that can encourage responsibility in children of this age include:

• have them take care of their siblings (with an adult)
• have them clean up the items they use
• get help in the kitchen

At this age, children already begin to become autonomous, both in their personal care (dressing, showering…) and in food.

In the game , it’s an age when they start to take turns accepting things (even if they don’t always respect them) and playing them together with two or three other kids. It is the age at which the first friendships are formed.

Responsibility in five to six year olds

By the ages of five and six, children have usually already learned correct social behavior and social norms. However, they still need an adult to show them what to do and what not to do. It is good to offer them several options so that they can choose between more than one option, as this promotes their personal autonomy.

What tasks can you give them at this age? Simple household chores such as clearing the table, cleaning, getting their own clothes ready for dressing, and getting their bag ready for school. At this age, they usually enjoy helping out and running errands. As for play, they play in groups of three or more children and follow simple rules.

Responsibility in children from six to seven years old

At this age, they may be given more complex responsibilities. They can start preparing materials for school (and for other activities), and they can master themselves in very familiar and close environments or places such as school.

They can also start managing some weekly pocket money and maybe even have their own piggy bank where they put their savings. At the age of six and seven , they are still guided by the rules and habits of adults and continue to identify what is “right” with the commands adults give them and what is “wrong” with what they are told not to do and when seeing an adult get angry.

Eight to nine years

Personal autonomy begins to develop and children are able to control their impulses according to their intentions. They begin to become independent from their parents and as a result they seek their own personal interests.

To give children of this age more responsibility, you can assign them tasks such as preparing breakfast, washing themselves, helping in the kitchen, clearing the table, emptying the dishwasher, etc. When they reach this age, you must show an attitude that will encourage initiative in them, while at the same time combining your demands with flexibility.

Ten years and older

From this age, the tasks you can give them gradually become more complex. They should already be able to take out the trash, run simple errands, help with cooking in the kitchen (eg cooking ready meals), sew buttons, and even walk the dog.

Conclusions

These are just a few ideas to encourage children’s responsibility, although these can easily change depending on the child’s characteristics and development. As they get older, they will become more and more independent and will need to adapt to this, and in turn adapt the responsibilities that rest on them.

Like many other skills and values, responsibility can also be worked on. Knowing your children will help you align with their developmental stage and abilities, and discover which tasks they can do alone and which require supervision.

If questions arise, you can always turn to a specialist professional for guidance or from specialist books on the subject. There is currently a lot of useful and attractive material, both in libraries and on the Internet.