Personal Responsibility: What It Means and Whose Job is It?

"How many times do I have to tell you to clean your room?" Why should a child keep his room neat? Many children say they don't care whether it is neat or dirty, so why should it matter to anyone else? Unless it is a health or safety hazard, or things are getting lost and broken? Then comes the age old question, "What is neat?" The answer certainly differs with a ten year old child and a thirty five year old Mom. Who is setting the standard of how clean a room must be to be acceptable.

What constitutes a neat and tidy room may not seem like such a big deal, but it represents a microcosm of how the family works together and how personal responsibility is taught and learned. Even though your child picks up his shoes without being reminded and turns in his homework assignments, it won't guarantee his success in life. It will, however, go far to help him to develop the characteristics and attributes that employers and mates look for.

In the next few minutes, as you read this article, you will find two different and distinct components of responsibility: outward and inward.

1. Outward responsibility deals with everyday life skills such as doing chores, cleaning the room, doing assigned chores, brushing teeth, returning videos on time, and feeding the dog. Each family has its own list of what they consider important, so we will not discuss particular tasks. Rather, we want you to focus on nurturing a positive attitude and good habits in your children - habits that will help them to be productive and reliable.

If your child has the responsibility to clean his room and you clean it for him, he has learned a valuable lesson. He has learned that if he stalls long enough or whines convincingly enough that you will step in. He has no "ownership" of the task. It is not really his job, it is yours and you occasionally get him to do it.

2. Inward responsibility deals with attitudes, beliefs, and values. Being inwardly responsible means admitting mistakes, treating others as you would like to be treated, being unselfish, and caring about other people's health, property and feelings. We frequently get bogged down with the frustration of dirty rooms and forget about more important factors like inward motivation.

Effective discipline and mindful parenting is setting reasonable limits on our children at different developmental stages but giving them choices so they can learn to form their own opinions.

Our goal is to help them become self-disciplined and to learn to think and problem solve without asking or being told what to do in every situation.

Aptitude and competence or the ability to accomplish a task is not nearly as important and vital to a happy life as attitude and confidence. This is the area where we help our children build self-esteem, problem solving skills, a can-do outlook, and positive expectations toward life.

What does it mean to teach your children responsibility?

All parents have a different answer and a different expectation of when and how their children will assume personal responsibility. Responsibility must be taught. It is not a natural skill, but it can be learned at any age. You do not become responsible when you are mature; rather, you become mature when you are responsible. There are four variables in this exciting venture:

1. Your child (learning style, age, motor skills, interest, hot buttons or incentives)

2. Your expectations (perfection or ever-learning; Being kind and firm in discipline)

3. Your example and how you model 'assuming personal responsibility' for your choices (use the four R's: Recognize, Remorse, Restitution, and Resolve to correct mistakes)

4. Consistency and follow-through (natural and logical consequences)

Focus on the learning experience, not the finished product

In teaching your children to assume personal responsibility focus your attention on the learning experience, not on the finished product. It is the process that is most important. Constantly remind yourself that you are a teacher and your subject matter is life skills. A good affirmation to repeat to yourself is one that comes from Dr. Wayne Dyer, "I will be as helpful as I can in assisting my children to help themselves."

A cooperative environment is one where everyone in the family wins; there are no losers. By learning to support and assist each other in small daily tasks, we set the stage for encouragement and a willingness to become self-reliant.

Good luck. As a word of encouragement, I have to tell you that, of our grown children, the ones who were the messiest as kids are the neatest as adults! Hang in there; there is hope for the future.

Judy H. Wright, Parent Educator © 2005 www.ArtichokePress.com

This article has been written by Judy H. Wright, a parent educator and PBS consultant. You will find a full listing of books, tele-classes, and workshops listed at www.ArtichokePress.com. You have permission to use the article providing full credit is given to author. She may be contacted at 406-549-9813 or JudyWright@ArtichokePress.com

Obama Campaign National Finance Committee Member Criticizes ...
ABC News - 23 hours ago
Gutman said the issue wasn't one of gender but one of parenting – regardless of the gender of the parent. "This has nothing to do with gender, whether Todd ...
Obama Fundraiser: Palin Putting Career Above Family FOXNews
all 4 news articles

Divorce kids get cash boost
NEWS.com.au, Australia - 7 hours ago
Professor Matt Sanders, who heads the Triple-P Parenting Program at the University of Queensland, said he hoped the additional funding would be extended to ...
$17m to ease strain of family break-ups Sydney Morning Herald
$17m boost for kids of divorce Northern Territory
all 39 news articles

Ninemsn
Ignore parenting tips from Lynne Spears
Arizona Republic, AZ - 22 hours ago
by Suzanne Condie Lambert - Sept. 6, 2008 12:00 AM In the upcoming tell-all - Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World - Mama ...
Don’t Worry Sarah Palin, Jamie Lynn Spears Feels Your Pain hecklerspray
Lynne Spears Orders $60 Worth Of Baby Gift For Sarah Palin's ... AHN
Jamie Lynn Spears sends pink burp cloths to Bristol Palin with a ... Examiner.com
New Republic - Glosslipall 181 news articles

Twin Falls Times-News
Parenting in 'grand' style
LocalNews8.com, ID - 34 minutes ago
Then they became more like little Tristn's parents. The couple got legal guardianship of Tristn Griffis after their son divorced the boy's mother, ...
Parenting in 'grand' style Twin Falls Times-News
all 4 news articles

Pregnant In High School: Teens On How Parenting Changed Them
Tampa Tribune, FL - 20 hours ago
Like many of the girls in the Hernando County School District's teen parenting program, she never intended on becoming pregnant. Kimberly recalled that when ...
Teen Parenting Program Going Strong In Hernando Tampa Tribune
all 2 news articles

Parenting in 'grand' style
The Olympian, WA - 2 hours ago
The growth stems from a variety of reasons, including parents who abuse drugs or alcohol or who have mental illness, said Shawna Wasko, who oversees a ...

The midlife parenting trap
The Age, Australia - Sep 5, 2008
Tomorrow's Father's Day celebrations may mask sadness and confusion among parents of young adults as their hands-on role fades and they must grapple with ...

Examiner.com
Parenting Examiner
Examiner.com - 18 hours ago
His top recommendation for parents is to get ankle injuries treated right away. "What seems like a sprain is not always a sprain; in addition to cartilage ...
Parenting Examiner Examiner.com
all 2 news articles

Telegraph.co.uk
Plea to parents over gang crime
The Press Association - Sep 2, 2008
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith appealed to parents to play their part in tackling gang crime. Parents sometimes think, she said, that their teenagers rarely ...
Parents get anti-gang advice Manchester Online
Smith Urges Parents To 'Play Part' In Defeating Gang Culture 4RFV
Gangs: you and your child new advice for parents on gangs 7thSpace Interactive (press release)
Sky News - BBC Newsall 248 news articles

Parenting involves bringing out all the good in child
San Angelo Standard Times, tx - 19 hours ago
For all I know, everyone else in that waiting room may have been in full agreement that parenting is about "getting the bad out" of our children. ...

Wind Chimes and more...

Windchimes for great gifts!

Are You Too Busy for Your Kids?