kids can handle (and benefit from) some hard work

Today, most parents feel the need to make life easier for their kids. Easier than what? Than the life the parents had? Than the life the neighbor's kids have? Than the life of someone less advantaged? Here are three ideas supporting the idea that kids can handle (and may benefit from) some hard work.

1. self-reliance
Kids can figure out a lot--not just kid stuff, either. Give your child a job. Was a metal toy left in the tub and now there's a rust stain? Hand your child a sponge and some Comet to get the stain off. Sure, if this is new, you'll hear a lot of complaining at first. But when your child figures out that whining is not working, it will stop. Keep checking in. You may need to explain the idea of "elbow grease" and that there's nothing "magic" about Comet. When the stain finally comes off, be there with a smile and talk up the self-reliance angle. Your child figured out how to get a seemingly impossible stain off the tub--alone. Hooray for your child!

2. use all those working parts
Kids problem solve in school, why not bring it home. Is a bike not pedaling smoothly? Look at the parts, figure out how they are supposed to work. Put a can of WD-40 in your child's hand (and be ok with the mess). Let your child fiddle with the bike until the ride is smooth again. Yes, your child may forget where parts go if too many are taken off at once, but that's ok, too. He/she's learning the mechanics of a toy that was, most likely, taken for granted. If it broke, your child would have asked for a new one. Now he/she's figuring out the way it works, and might be able to fix it again in the future. Your child is in there, getting dirty hands and really thinking about the problem of the clicking pedal.

3. satisfaction in a job well done
Weeding is not the preferred activity of many people. However, there is something satisfying about getting all those weeds out and looking at a nice, clean flower bed. Put your kids on the job. They see you outside all the time, they know you're not making them do something you wouldn't do yourself (because then it might be seen as punishment). Offer some cash for a big job, but don't help if you're paying. Make sure the payoff matches the labor. When it comes time to give the money, be sure to say thanks for the large job completed and the care taken to pull every weed. Your child will have the satisfaction of pleasing you, a clean flower bed and now a little cash in the pocket.