(18). Assign Responsibility

We are not born with a sense of responsibility, it is something that is instilled within us and must be encouraged to grow.When a parent or teacher delegates responsibilities to a child, they are not being harsh or unjust, instead they are facilitating children to learn how to own their actions and become independent individuals who have character and personality.

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A father asks his son to walk to the shop and by bread, or a mother who asks her son to watch over his younger brother, they are not being unfairtowards their children, or moving their responsibilities over to them, they are encouraging them to adopt the habit of becoming responsible beings.

When delegating responsibilities, they must of course be age-appropriate. Giving a child more than they can handle could backfire and in future they might be unwilling to take on future tasks. This does not mean that we must not allow them to challenge themselves, or even make mistakes however.

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A father, for instance, who delegates a task, but details each and every step, does not allow his child to strategize and practice this task optimally. The point is to encourage youngsters to problems solve and take ownership, not necessarily do something on another’s behalf.

Intervene if you must and give subtle hints, but allow your child to feel as though they have full responsibility of the task at hand. It’s hard letting our children become independent, and not needing us as often as they used too, but responsibility is a healthy characteristic and is crucial to be able to survive happily in this harsh world we live in.

This post has been edited by a member of the Hive account@blue-pencil team.