Labor education in the family is the responsibility of parents, on the preservation of which the moral value of a person and society depends.
At present, some people may have a misconception about this responsibility. Parents often need advice on this issue. When planning a parent meeting on the topic “Labor education in the family,” many teachers widely quote the words of N.K. Krupskaya, A.S. Makarenko, K.D. Ushinsky.
We live in a different time and are guided by modern moral values, therefore, when talking about labor education, it is not always appropriate to rely on the pedagogical heritage of the past.
In modern society, the prestige of work has fallen. Honest work is no longer held in high esteem.
There are several reasons for the fall:
- The country maintains a corrupt army of officials, so the work of other citizens is not paid according to their merits. A low salary is humiliating for a person. People cannot support their families or create healthy living conditions for their children.
- The state with all its actions contributes to the growth of unemployment.
- Pensioners receive a meager pension. The size of their pension indicates the disdainful attitude of officials and politicians towards working people.
- In our country they work almost for free, but according to their calling.
Despite all the current circumstances, labor education in the family is an invaluable experience necessary for a person for comprehensive development and self-realization. The role of work in family life is important.
Love for different types of work is brought up in the family. Work can be not only interesting and enjoyable, but also hard, tiring, and dirty. It is important to teach children to finish what they start, even if the work is not enjoyable. This demonstrates work discipline and willpower.
Love for work is born in preschool age and persists throughout the rest of life. Work is a responsibility that needs to be cultivated as early as possible. There are actual and moral results of labor. Careless cleaning of the apartment (unscrupulous washing of floors and dishes) will not be happy for anyone. Whatever the child does to help others, it should be an expression or embodiment of his love, attention and respect for the people around him.
Labor education in early childhood
Any child should understand that he is a full-fledged member of the family, from whom all possible help is expected.
A three-year-old child can collect toys, put books back, serve spoons to the table... From an early age, it is necessary to develop self-care skills in the child: teach him to wash himself, brush his teeth, dress and undress independently, put his toys in order. When developing self-care skills, adults should know that due to physiological characteristics (underdeveloped fine motor skills, the period of sensory development...) any task is difficult for the baby. Until the age of three, a child is just learning to feel the world around him and it is difficult for him to follow the sequence of actions. It is important to show calm, patience and kindness.
My little daughter, at three years old, happily threw potatoes into holes, watered flowers in the garden, picked berries... She did everything clumsily and got tired quickly, but was very happy, because she liked the role of her mother and father’s assistant. For her, everything was a game. While planting potatoes, the daughter addressed her with the words: “I have my own house. And this is your house. Your sister will live here...” While picking berries, she said: “These big berries are mom and dad, small berries are their daughters, this berry looks like mom...”. The joy of working together remains with children and parents for life.
It is important to allow the baby to do things that he can do himself. You cannot completely relieve him of household duties. He can get used to the fact that his parents are obliged to serve him. The mistake of parents is to teach them to work by force. Gross coercion, like a duty, can cause a daughter or son to have an aversion to work or an inferiority complex.
The importance of work for personal development
Modern parents very often underestimate education through labor. Feeling sorry for their children, they justify their actions by the fact that their children will still work hard in adulthood. But this position is erroneous , since it is in childhood that a person’s attitude to work and basic labor skills are laid.
By cleaning the house or helping mom wash the dishes, the baby learns responsibility and understands that if you carry out an assignment carelessly, it will not make anyone happy. Whatever he does, his help demonstrates love, attention, and respect for his family.
A simple task to fix a broken car or doll is not a mechanical reproduction of certain actions. Conscious work gives rise to initiative and ingenuity; the child is in an active search, trying to find ways to solve the problem. At this time, his memory and attention develop, and his imagination awakens . When a baby works with small parts and objects, his fine motor skills are formed, which directly affects the improvement of speech centers and intelligence .
Labor education of preschool children
Hard work does not happen on its own.
In preschool age, a child willingly helps his parents. Children feel especially proud if adults entrust them with unfamiliar work. They perceive each new business as a new stage of growing up, as a confirmation of the growing trust of adults in children. As the child grows older and his responsibilities become more complex, he may become lazy. It is important to awaken a child’s interest in any dirty work and help him realize its significance.
When fighting laziness, parents often resort to punishment. Fair punishment can make a child feel guilty. Unfair punishment is perceived by him as an insult. The best way to solve a problem with laziness is to have a heart-to-heart talk with him. How to punish a child if the punishment humiliates the person.
Many of the daily duties of a preschooler should become a habit and be carried out without reminders: he must wash and put away the dishes after himself, hang his clothes neatly, tie his shoelaces, make his bed, wipe the dust in his room, put his things in the designated place...
Such types of work as caring for aquarium fish, pets, and indoor plants help foster kindness, love for nature, and most importantly, give children pleasure.
For a preschooler, manual labor is very important (making crafts, putting together puzzles, designing...), during which children develop perseverance and develop aesthetic feelings.
Decline in the prestige of labor
Involving the pedagogical heritage of the past in raising children is not always appropriate; current moral values are somewhat different, which especially applies to labor education. Unfortunately, honest work is no longer honorable.
There are several reasons for this:
- Compared to the living conditions of numerous officials, the work of ordinary citizens does not allow them to adequately support their family or provide for their children. Their work is not paid according to its merits.
- Considering the size of miserable pensions, we can talk about the neglect of officials and politicians for working people.
- Unemployment is rampant in the country, work does not have adequate pay, people work for practically nothing, but out of calling.
Labor education of a girl
Many parents are confident that they know how to raise a girl. A far-sighted mother makes sure that her daughter from an early age helps her set the table, wash and dry the dishes. Over time, the daughter’s responsibilities become more complicated - she takes care of her younger sister, cleans the apartment, washes, irons clothes, learns to cook, knit, sew...
At first, mother and daughter carry out any task together. When doing the work independently, the mother should not skimp on praise. In case of failure, it is important to tactfully ask the child to mop the floor, iron the linen, bandage a sock... You cannot express dissatisfaction and humiliate him with the words: “You should have done it yourself. Your hands are put in at the wrong end.” Diligence takes time. Having learned to wash or cook, the girl will begin to appreciate her mother’s work.
The meaning of child labor and its types
Developing labor skills in a child is of great importance in shaping his physical and moral development. Children, mastering different types of work, gradually become more confident and physically stronger.
The labor process disciplines children and develops in them a sense of responsibility for themselves and their actions.
The importance of work in the lives of children
The types of labor depend on what the goal is and what the tasks of the labor process are:
- self-care: the child must have basic self-care skills;
- household skills;
- be able to work outdoors;
- manual labor.
Two main tasks of labor education
All types of labor are aimed at ensuring that children can master all the features of the world around them, develop the ability to think, hone their memory, study the purpose and learn to work with different tools, and become familiar with the rules for using materials. Children should master the content of the labor process by following the example of adults, imitating them, and adopting certain labor skills.
By mastering different types of work, preschoolers broaden their horizons and develop respect for their elders.
Self-service
The means and techniques for mastering self-care activities are quite simple:
- all procedures must be performed regularly;
- monitoring the performance of actions by adults;
- the requirement on the part of adults to do all work carefully, to be tidy and to maintain cleanliness.
Self-service is the first type of work
Advice to parents: older preschoolers should be introduced to school clothes and attributes, the child’s vocabulary should be replenished, and care should be taught in handling these items. For example, prepare clothes with your child in the evening, carefully hanging them on the high chair.
Household labor
Preschoolers must master economic skills and be able to do household work. A child is quite capable of wiping dust on furniture and door handles. The child must represent the content of household work. Methods of labor education allow children in each age category to master new labor actions.
Helping parents - example of household work
The means of developing skills and abilities to perform household work are varied: the child can help set the table, tidy up after himself, sweep the floor. In kindergarten, children are on duty, they also set tables, water flowers, and wipe dust on shelves and cabinets.
Adults need to adjust the content of work depending on their age group.
Advice: do not forget to praise the child, guide him, but in no case scold him, only then the educational goal will be fulfilled.
Work in nature
Labor skills performed in the natural environment are excellent means of experiencing the beauty of one’s native land, developing observation skills and improving movements. The tasks that are presented to this type of work activity are the development of volitional qualities, strength and endurance.
Cleaning the area, outdoor work
What means of labor education are used in this type of work? Children of primary preschool age can feed the fish and the birds while walking. Older preschoolers can be assigned to water the flowers in a group. Parents can set similar tasks for their child at home. If the kindergarten has a corner of nature, then children can provide all possible assistance in caring for pets. Also interesting are such means as growing onions or herbs in a jar on the window, as well as observing and caring for plants sprouted from seeds.
Caring for vegetables is a very effective way of labor education.
Such means of instilling a love of work in nature are very effective; children become kinder and enjoy the process of work.
Manual labor
Preschoolers should be taught to work with their hands. These are various crafts, working with different types of materials. In classes in kindergarten, children learn the skills of working with natural materials and using various improvised means and paper in creativity.
Children love to make crafts
Manual labor is designed to solve such problems as developing perseverance, developing a sense of aesthetics and patience.
Labor education of a boy
The son should see how his father constantly works around the house, does not sit idly by, leaving household chores to his wife. The father's work is an object lesson for the son. The son will do any task without coercion if it has become habitual for the father. The father teaches his son to use tools, saw, plan, hammer nails, repair an iron, a watch...
A smart dad will teach his son everything he can do himself, in accordance with his age. A preschooler can give tools to his father and do feasible work in the house, garden, and yard. There is no substitute for communication between children and parents during work. Such moments of communication help to become closer to each other. This is how children develop favorite things that they do without reminders. It is parents who pass on their passion for any activity to their children.
Noticing the beauty created by the hands of mother and father, observing their obvious pleasure in their work, children experience a burning desire to do something on their own.
All children, regardless of gender, should acquire self-care skills.
You cannot strictly divide responsibilities into women's and men's, and convince boys that washing floors (setting the table, preparing food...) is not a man's job. Boys must do any work, since there can be no unworthy occupation.
As a child, I had too many responsibilities, and I am grateful to my parents for instilling in me the need to work. I taught my daughters everything I know. The main thing is to achieve perfection in any task: not just wash, but wash perfectly, use only healthy products when preparing any dish, pay attention to table setting, create coziness and comfort in the home... Everything that we pass on to children will definitely be useful to them in life . Our responsibility is to make work a habit for children. It is not for nothing that the proverb says: “The happiness of parents is the honesty and hard work of their children.”
The moral value of any person is measured by his attitude towards work.
There is such a thing as “work culture”. Not all parents are familiar with it. A handyman lives next door to me. He repairs refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, computers... However, he lacks work culture. This is expressed in the fact that there is never order in his workshop; he does everything with his soul, but in a hurry. Accuracy was not cultivated in his family. There is talent and ability, but there is no habit of achieving beauty and perfection.
In any education, example is important. You cannot achieve success in a family where the mother works and the father leads an idle lifestyle. Parents are obliged to clearly define what is “possible”, “needed” and “not allowed” to be done in their family. The attitude of adults determines what kind of environment (laxness or order) children will create in their future family.
The concepts of “can”, “need”, “cannot” must be reinforced in early childhood. It is important to convey to the child the importance of the beautiful words “should” and “shouldn’t”. These magic words help people cultivate willpower. At a moment of fatigue and bad mood, a person calls on a sense of duty to help and says to himself: “I must do this.” What would happen to people if they were not familiar with these concepts? All life would turn into complete chaos. Everyone would do only what they like. It is important to teach children from childhood to restrain their desires, that is, to instill in them the skills of self-control and self-organization.
How to develop hard work in children
For a child to become hardworking, he must be raised. But the most important thing is that he should experience joy from work.
In a playful way, children gain skills and abilities to work
Child labor is unique:
- in terms of content, the work is simple;
- actions are available;
- connection with game processes.
If you watch children, you can see that for 2-3 years the work of an adult is reflected in the game. Children imitate the actions of their elders. Let your child watch adults doing some work. Kids can wash clothes for dolls, wash soft toys, and finally tidy up their room or children's corner. Children aged 5-6 years, as well as seven-year-olds, already play situational games. Such means are excellent in developing labor skills.
Situational games - a fun method of labor education
The content of a child’s work is similar to the content of an adult’s work. It is important that work is meaningful, brings joy and ignites creative impulses.
