Even though I love my two kids very much, I have to say that sometimes they need to be pushed to do things like their homework or help out around the house. This article explains how I try to get kids to work hard. The methods have been very helpful for my own kids, and I'm sure they could help other parents in the same situation.
I remember the first time I met Taryn, who is my stepdaughter. She was five years old and a very interesting person. I did feel bad for her, though, because she spent so much time at a childminder's. The babysitter would drive her to and from school. On some days, her mother couldn't get her until around 8 o'clock at night.
After dating her mother for a few months, I said I could help out by taking Taryn to and from school. Taryn told me that this is what she wanted me to do, and everyone agreed.
Taryn's mother, who was very busy and often tired, or the babysitter had never really made her do her homework before.
The first day I picked Taryn up from school, I asked her if she had any homework when we got home. She gave me her file of books to read. There was a book in the folder that she had to read. I told Taryn, "Come on, let's read this book together." I don't do homework, Taryn replied. I told her that was in the past and that she would do it herself from now on.
Taryn threw a fit and started crying. She went on to say, "You're not my dad, so you can't make me do it." I had to be pretty strong to get her to read the book. There were some words she couldn't read, so I made a list of them. Then we spent about ten minutes trying to learn the words together. She was very bored by everything.
Then, I told her we were going to play a game called "the mouthing game." She would pick a word from the list and say it silently with her mouth. If I could guess what she said, she would get a point, and then it would be my turn.
Taryn liked this game a lot, and the next day, on the way home from school, she asked if we could play it again. I said, "Of course we can, but first we need to read the book." Taryn said it was all right. This is just one of the many games we play while doing homework or other tasks that kids find boring.
I also give both of them compliments and tell them often how much I love and am proud of them. I give them rewards when they do well in school, and I tell them to always give something a try, even if they think they might fail at it. I think that if you do your best, there is no such thing as failure.
