To-do lists are not often thought of as a tool that children can use, but children can also use to-do lists. Children are thought to have so much freedom that they don’t have to worry about how the hours of their days play out. However, a daily to-do list for kids can help teach them about discipline and why it is essential to stay on track with their daily chores. You don’t want them to fall behind on what they should do.
When should your kid start making daily to-do lists?
You can start teaching your children the importance of a to-do list when they are 5 or 6 years old. You will want to start slowly with them when they are that age. Don’t overwhelm them with too much information or too many responsibilities.
At the same time, I don’t think they aren’t capable of anything. The truth lies somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. They can accomplish more than you might think, but you don’t want to burden them with too many of the responsibilities of adulthood too soon. It is perfectly reasonable to find a compromise between the two.
The upside for your children having a to-do list is that it can help teach them the power of discipline and what they can get done in a day. It is essential to work on these lessons early in life because they are lessons that will carry through the rest of their lives. The earlier you start this with them, the easier it is to build these habits.
“Today is the day you’re going to slay your to-do list and bring home a major win” -Michael Hyatt
3 ways to make kids excited for daily to-do lists
There are a few ways that you might get your kids more engaged with their to-do lists. You certainly want to make sure you can get them excited about the prospect of going over their lists no matter what. It is not always easy to get children interested in something like this, but you can entice them by doing some of the following:
1. Bring Them Into The Process
Don’t just hand them a list and tell them to work on it. Bring them into the process to see how they get rewards by doing what they ought to do. This will make it more likely that they will follow through and give their best effort.
2. Add Rewards For Accomplishing Certain Tasks
Incentivizing people works all the time. It is nice when you can throw in some rewards for your children when they do an excellent job on something on their list. They will work hard to achieve those goals, showing them that being driven and accomplishing their tasks leads to good things.
3. Post Their List Somewhere That They Can See
Children are motivated by seeing their accomplishments just as much as adults are. Therefore, it makes sense that you should post their list so they can see it easily. It will encourage them to take it seriously and to want to mark things off the list rapidly. Thus, they will be more motivated to work on it when they can see where the list is and how their contributions work.
7 ideas to include in kids’ daily to-do list
1. Clean Their Room
At least have the children pick up some toys for their to-do list chores.
2. Brush Their Teeth
Many children struggle to stay on a good schedule by brushing their teeth and taking care of their oral health. You can help them by putting teeth brushing on their to-do list.
3. Do Something Nice For Someone
A good deed per day could make the world a much better place. Teaching your children this from an early age is beneficial.
4. Walk The Dog
If you have a family dog, your child can walk that animal by giving it the exercise and time outside it needs.
5. Make Their Bed
Depending on their age, your child may need some help making their bed, but it is a great to-do list item for them.
6. Do Their Homework
They need to do their homework regardless, so why not put it on the list as something that they are expected to do?
7. Read A Few Pages Of A Book
Reading should always be encouraged; including it on a to-do list is a great way to make that happen. They may not even realize how much they love to read until they have the chance to add it to their list.
Conclusion
Many children are benefiting from to-do lists right now. People don’t think about children nearly enough when they think about who can benefit from these lists, but the world would be better if we started to think about how children can accomplish a lot with a to-do list.
