Make Everyday Tasks Fun-Tastic For The Family (NAPSA)—Moat parents dream of having children who clean their messes, brush their teeth without e reminders and finish their homework with enthusiasm. One way to get your kids in the routine of being diligent about everyday tasks is by making these duties fun. Create games out of various chores, offer incentives and rewards and lead by example to show your children how everyone in the family benefits from good habits. These simple suggestions will help parents point their children in the right direction and encourage them to develop positive daily habits in the home: * Remind kids: everything hasits place What child doesn’t breeze through a room and leave a schoolbag or shoes in their wake? Help kids get in the habit of putting things away by implementing the seven-second rule. Ask them to consider: “Do I have seven seconds to put my stuff away now instead of doing it later?” This will help maintain a picked-up home and make the weekly cleaning job more manageable. * Make brushing fun Oral health can have a signifieant impact on the overall health and well being of kids, but it often takes too much prodding to get kids to brush. Try selecting kidsinspired dental tools, like toothpaste with sparkles and the new electric SpinBrush from Crest. It comes in four cool designs—cell phones, mermaids, racecars and rocket ships—which encourage kids to brush longer. The Crest SpinBrush, available at a suggested retail price of only $5.99, also cleans teeth better than an ordinary manual toothbrush and features a smaller head and larger handle to aid in control for little ones. * Keep vegetables handy If the thought of eating vegetables makes your children scrunch their noses, sneak veggies in their meals by putting grated carrots into muffins, spinach into lasagna or mixed vegetables in their omelets. Try adding baby carrots or other cut veggies to their lunches to make eating vegetables more convenient. Gone are the days of bribing your kids to brush. The new elec- tric Crest SpinBrush for Kids comesin four cool designs that encourage daily brushing by makingoral care fun! * Let them study away from their desks Makeschoolwork more enjoyable by letting the kids do their homework someplace other than their bedroom or at the desk. Let them sit on the patio or at the dining room table for a change of scenery. Your child will be less likely to feel iso- lated or get off-task if a parent or guardian is within sight. * Set up a chart to organize chores To keep track of kitchen duties and other household chores, make a rotating chart detailing each person’s responsibility. By organizing chores and having a set schedule, daily tasks will become an easy routine for both the kids and parents. Assign kid-friendly tasks in the kitchen If mealtimes with your children are few and far between, make the cooking preparations part of the family fun. Let your children participate and assign kid-appropriate duties in the kitchen, like washing vegetables, measuring the ingredients or earefully pouring the liquids. Thanking them for their work and effort will help build self-confidence and self-esteem. Show the kids how good habits benefit themselves, as well as everyone in the home, by encouraging them andreinforcing a job well done. Children will then be morelikely to take the initiative in the future and do these things on their own, without reminders or helpful suggestions from parents.
