The Mindful Children’s Household Chores Chart
What if there was a way of getting your children to do chores AND get the benefits of mindfulness at the same time?! Well there is, and the younger you start them, the more benefits you will see from an early age. ‘Chores’ isn’t a word I like to use because it makes kids faces scrunch up! I prefer to explain them as ‘family responsibilities’ or ‘tasks’, and instill a sense of pride and duty where all members are playing their part. This is where Mindfulness comes in.
Learning to do a simple, but important, daily task with focus and intention resonates throughout our lives. Teaching children to focus and do a task, to the best of their ability from a young age, is a positive lesson to learn. Teaching them to appreciate responsibility, and succeed in simple daily tasks early on, instills a sense of duty and pride throughout life. As they get old enough, explain that stuff need to be organised so that you can find it quickly when you need it. Explain that the house needs to be clean so the dirt doesn’t make you ill or attract rodents or bugs. And teach them to respect the ‘things’ in the house (clothes, furniture, utensils) that someone has lovingly bought to make their lives comfortable and cared for.
‘Family responsibilities’ should be done in silence so that children learn to focus and do tasks them properly. After all, the quicker it gets done, the quicker it’s over! And any task, however menial, should be done to the best of our ability, and with pride. For younger children, chores not be long or drawn out, but short ‘task meditations’, where in 1 – 3 minutes they have successfully completed their responsibility in silent focus. And try NOT to reward children with treats, creating bad habits for the future and a conditioned response leading to disappointment in later life (no one gives ME a cookie each time I wash the dishes, and my life would me very depressing if I was expecting a reward each time I fulfilled my responsibilities!) Instead, you should give each other a heart felt ‘thank you’ and a hug, for the part you each play in making your house, your home.
xx
Charlie Stewart-Brown
Charlie began practicing yoga over 27 years ago as a recommendation for her severe anxiety, and has been teaching for over 15 years to people of all ages and abilities. With over 1300 hrs of training and 22,500 hrs of teaching, she is also the lead trainer on the Indiv Yoga 200 hrs YTT & RCYT Kids Yoga Teacher Training Courses, having certified over 400 students worldwide. She is the voice of the ‘Yoga and Mindfulness Program’ on British Airways long-haul flights, has spoken at many seminars and corporate workshops, and runs exclusive yoga and meditation retreats during the year.
Originally from London and having worked in New York and Lisbon after her Psychology degree, she has since settled in Switzerland with her husband, and dedicated her life to expanding her knowledge of the science of yoga, mindful meditation and better physical and mental health.
Over the years Charlie has trained with some of the most renowned yoga teachers around the world (David Swenson, Shiva Rea, Anne-Marie Newland, Leslie Kaminoff, Sadie Nardini, Sonia Sumar etc) certifying in Hatha, Sivanada, Ashtanga, Childrens and Family Yoga, Yoga for the Special Child, & Inner Engineering with Sadhguru. She has become highly respected for her successful work in yoga therapy, especially for Autism, ADHD and other behavioural and developmental syndromes. She has also talked at some of the biggest corporations in Switzerland and the annual SGIS (Swiss Group of International Schools) Conference on implementing Mindfulness in the work place and the education system.
Charlie holds the highest yoga qualifications as an ERYT500 (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher), RCYT (Registered Children´s Yoga Teacher), RPYT (Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher) and YCEP (Yoga Continued Education Provider) with the Yoga Alliance, and has developed Indiv Yoga™ to bring a more physiological, therapeutic and individual approach to yoga. Indiv Yoga™ Switzerland is a RYS (registered yoga school) and RCYS (registered children’s yoga school) providing Yoga Alliance teacher training certifications of the highest professional standards.
The focus of Indiv Yoga™ is to provide the benefits of yoga to every type of individual, using its teachings to achieve physical and mental balance, and diminish the anxieties of modern life for adults and children.
Read her online testimonials and qualifications for a feel of her knowledgeable and friendly professionalism.
2 thoughts on “Household Chores Chart – for Mindful Children”
Love this chart as it is simple to use! I would like to share this with my Facebook followers. Please let me know how I can share this on my page. Balance on Charlie….
Please do Annette! 🙂