Forgetfulness in child

[jennsmile]

How do you get your child to remember to do chores? I forgot is always the excuse I hear from my 6 yo.

 

He was told to empty the dishwasher and play with his brother while I did a lesson with the older brother. In fact he was the one that told me he needed to do that job.

 

His reason that is not done 2 hours later, I forgot!

 

He played outside while I did not one but two different lessons.

[fairfarmhand]

In our house, this is a cyclic thing.

 

When the cycle starts up again, the rule is if you forget a chore, you have to later do that chore as well as an extra chore to make up for it.

 

This is not for typical responsibilities, like picking up toys or feeding the cats. I tell my kids every day to do these things. This for stuff that I specifically tell them to do. "When you are done with that chapter, go put your shoes in the closet."

[jhschool]

Very normal. Not to worry.

Just remind him a lot.

If he forgets, he still has to do it.

Don't make a big deal out of it.

He is only 6.

That said, I made a

big deal out of it when mine was 6.

But it didn't help and it made him unhappy.

So I try to be nicer now.

[meggie]

At six, I wouldn't expect him to actually get it done unless I was following up on it. Usually I have to supervise too, but mine is a young six year old, maybe yours is closer to 7. Yesterday, I told him about 5 times to go change his clothes. He ended up staying in them all day because I never supervised him changing them. I think it's normal for them to see something else, get distracted and forget what they are supposed to do. I think he saw some books and started reading instead. So today, I was in there while he changed.

 

I also make use of the timer, "I'm setting the clock for five minutes. If the timer goes off and your room isn't clean, you aren't getting a story tonight." Then he asked if he could have 8 minutes. Since he asked politely and three minutes didn't really matter to me, I said sure. Kid got it done in about four.