Why “Hard Work” Is Good For Kids (With Examples!)

There are many benefits to allowing kids to participate in hard work. Hard work for kids brings many benefits such as life skills, endurance, team work, and more. Here are some examples:

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I’m imagining the “olden days” where as soon as a kid was strong enough to hold an ax, they were chopping fire wood.

As soon as a child was old enough to follow directions, they were raking out stalls and carrying heavy buckets of feed or water.

For many, times have really changed. But… has the need for kids to participate in “work” changed?

I’m not at all suggesting that it’s a good or idea, or even safe, to have your child chop wood in the back yard with a sharp ax.

In any case, you probably don’t need the fire wood in order to survive the cold this winter. So, maybe there are other things that kids can do to be productive and learn some great life lessons?

Work Ethic

So… how can modern moms foster a good work ethic with this generation of children who “in reality” don’t have to lift a finger to get things done?

First of all, I want to propose to you that it is both necessary and fun to engage hard for for kids. Here are just a few of the benefits:

• Teaches collaboaration
• Builds physical strength
• Fosters appreciation of material things
• Gives experiences & life skills
• Teaches the value of time
• Gives a sense of fulfillment and belonging

It’s undeniable that kid’s benefit from some “hard work”. So, let’s look at some examples what this may look like for today’s children.

Chores

There are many opinions on forcing children to participate in household chores. I believe that it’s important to teach children (even at a young age) to be productive contributors to the needs of the house.

Hard work pays off…

Whether you are going to pay an allowance, remove an allowance if they don’t do chores, or just have your children do what needs doing… chores and life satisfaction have a huge correlation.

Believe it or not.

This is a recipe for a full on hot mess. And also anxiety. I think you get the point.

Therefore, assigning household chores is an effective way to get hard work for kids a kick-start. I have found that when I involve my children in maintaining our home, I feel more relaxed and they take more interest in keeping it clean.

Yard Work Can Be Hard Work for Kids

Let’s be real…

Yard work is not easy. It is hard work. For some mom’s its therapeutic to work in their garden or yard. For others, it’s a drain and a pain.

Either way, involving the kids in the raking, cleaning up, dragging branches, or carrying yard items around can be an engaging way to teach hard work.

This is partially do the outside elements. For example

• If it’s a particularly hot day, work ethic can be taught because “we don’t give up when we’re hot and tired.”
• If it’s a cooler day, “the job has to still be done, even when we’re a little cold.“

Work with Parent

Many parents fall into the trap of…

What if… the point is that “hard work” must be practiced and taught with patience. Allowing them to struggle is the point.

Powerful lessons of endurance, fortification, self fulfillment, and confidence and learned through struggle and eventually triumph.

So, instead of seeing your children’s weaknesses and pushing them aside to get the job done- watch for opportunities to give them the reigns.

Good things come to those who work hard.

Examples of Physical Work that Kids Can Do

• Push a wheelbarrow
• Carry groceries inside
• Unload the car
• Push open doors (for younger children)
• Carry mail packages into the house
• Rake leaves
• Shovel snow
• Dig a hole
• Take out the garbage
• Carry laundry baskets
• Watering plants
• Mop/vacuum/sweep
• Collect broken branches
• Dust
• Put dishes away

Excelling at something physical

Many kids find themselves super into one particular sport. They live and breathe that sport. If a parent is going to do all the hard work of driving and schlepping and buying equipment and sitting on sidelines for half their life… then a child can do their own part of the work.

They may sacrifice time at home for this, so it needs to teach some lessons and not just be fun.

• Have them clean and care for their own equipment
• Clean and wash their uniforms
• Dedicate time outside of their normal practice to improving their own skills

So to recap…

So, make opportunity for kids to be physically challenged.

Give them opportunities to show and grow their hard work ethic.

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