by Kayla Griffin

Created on: February 09, 2009

There is a common misconception among many parents, that there toddler is too young to start learning responsibility. However this is simply not true, and many parents have already started with these early responsibility lessons without even being aware of it!

Do you encourage your toddler to put away their toys or place their clothes in their laundry? Little things like these are the basis for teaching your toddler to be a responsible child and one day adult. Think about the things that you do on a daily basis and the role your toddler already plays. Now all you have to do is build on these everyday routines, by talking to your toddler about why these things are important.

It is important to understand 2 things when trying to teach your toddler responsibility; 1. Teaching them responsibility does not have an end, it will be an ongoing process throughout your child's life. However starting from a young age will greatly help you and your child as they grow up. 2. It requires you to allow your toddler to have responsibilities! You must give them tasks that are theirs to complete. This does not mean we should not help them, it simply means that we need to give them responsibility to teach them responsibility.

Tips to be successful

*Pick age appropriate responsibilities. You should pick tasks such as putting their clothes in the laundry, picking up their toys, bringing their dishes from the table to the kitchen after a meal. Choose things that you know they are capable of completing. This is important because if we give them tasks that are too difficulty they can become discouraged. When a child is discouraged they loose interest and then is becomes difficult to get our child to complete their tasks, thus it becomes difficult to teach them responsibility.

*Communicate with your Child. You should always remind your child of their responsibilities. It is important to be able to talk to your child about what you want them to do and why. If we do not remind our children they can easily forget, and this gives them the impression that their responsibilities are not important. This is counter productive to teaching them responsibilities, and can be avoided with communication.

*Help your toddler. Your child is still young, and needs assistance. It is important to remember this and be there to help your child with their daily tasks. At this age we want to get them interested and establish their responsibilities as a routine. The easiest way to accomplish this is by being right

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