Activities of daily living and chores

Parents are encouraged to assist their children in being as independent as possible in their activities of daily living by letting their children bath, dress and feed themselves.

Children should have chores to help with around the house. This enhances a child’s sense of responsibility and independence.
Chores shouldn’t take more time than 30 min a day, because children should have adequate time for playing .Make these chores part of the daily routine so that the child has a certain time on which the chore must be initiated and a deadline as to when the task must be completed.
It is recommended that parents give these instructions, step-by-step, in English as to improve a child’s following of the teacher’s instructions in the classroom.
This will furthermore improve a child’s problem solving skills as he/she will have to break a task in smaller components and decide which step to do first. This may benefit your child’s performance in math word sums later in their school career.
Let me give you some examples of activities which can improve the physical and mental development of your child:
* Sweeping a kitchen-/veranda floor (improves shoulder control and midline crossing)
* Helping the parent to wash the car with a cloth in each hand (enhances the working together with 2 hands as well as shoulder control)
* Help mom to hang the washing. Child should stand on a chair so that the wire is shoulder height. Child should use pegs. (Improves shoulder control, working together with left and right hand and improves muscle strength of the child’s hand muscles)
* Help mom to make sandwiches or bake a cake. (Improves sequencing when it is done step by step and it helps the child to plan and problem solve. When the product is finished and garnished, the child may feel proud of it and the child’s self-esteem will therefore be improved)