8 Ideas to Transform the Way Your Kids View Work

When I’m gone, one of the major things that I want my kids to learn from me, is to value work. I’m reminded by the old Aesop’s fable of the tortoise and the hare. As we know, the hare was born with all kinds of quickness and natural talent needed to win the race. The tortoise, although not as blessed with the natural abilities of the hare, was determined to work as hard as he could every minute to the finish. The tortoise’s work ethic allowed him to excel over the more talented hare to win the race. If your kids are anything like mine, they tend to come up with a myriad of ways to get out of doing work. If they could win the award for debate over hard work, they’d be debate champions.

How do we get our kids to value work?   Implementing these 8 ideas will help:

Get them interested– My kids have loved doing bake sales or lemonade stands. In these moments of excitement it is our opportunity to teach. Discuss with them how they feel when someone smiles after eating one of the brownies they made or the monetary rewards from selling what you worked hard to make.

Educate them– Help your kids understand why we work. It could be that you teach them about the importance of money and how work is linked to earning money to provide material things. Teaching them principles of how work brings us internal satisfaction by using our talents and abilities to create something for the world. You can discuss that work isn’t just the job you go to, but is something you can do to develop yourself to become a better person.

Make them feel part of something bigger– I discuss in my blog post on volunteering some of the benefits of getting your kids involved in volunteer work. You can view that post here for more ideas. When you get your kids involved in work outside the house help them to see how it affects other people and discuss the impact they are having on the lives of others through the work they are doing.

Take them to work– Some of our jobs have days that allow you to take your son or daughter to work. Take advantage of those opportunities to bring your kids and show them what you do for a career. Have them meet some of the people you work with and have them tell your kids about what you’re like at work. Help them to get an understanding about what you do for your job.

Make work enjoyable– Show them that work doesn’t have to be drudgery. There are things that we don’t like to do, but the work can be very rewarding. Make it a point to do work together with your kids. Share stories with one another or joke around. Bring laughter into your work.

Set goals– Give your kids the opportunity to earn money. Find something that your kids want to purchase and have them identify the cost of the item. Help them set goals and a plan of action on things they can do to earn the money, save up, and purchase the item they want.