Be the FIRST TO KNOW when the next episode releases!

Raise Responsible Kids

Raise responsible, capable kids:

Teach life skills, set expectations, and create a culture of contribution at home.  This is where empowering your children with life skills, routines, and age-appropriate responsibilities so everyone contributes is key to their success for later in life.

girl doing chores: emptying dishwasher

#40: Being OK with the way our kids help out around the house

Do you often say: ‘Oh, I’ll just do it myself, it’s easier’ or ‘It’ll get done properly if I do it’ when it comes to maintaining your home?

You’re not alone.

Let’s face it, the way they do things isn’t the same way we do them nor the way we taught them how to do it.  It can cause frustrations sometimes and the temptation to just redo the whole thing ourselves (waste of time, by the way) or just do it ourselves from the get-go.

Resist.

In this episode you’ll learn the strategies I use to get passed through those thoughts and feelings so tune in.  Hope you enjoy this episode my friend!

#40: Being OK with the way our kids help out around the house Read More »

34: Why’s It So Hard For My Kid To Do Chores

Where the topic of chores and kids came from

So the question I’d be answering today is, why is it so hard to get my kid to do chores? Now, this podcast episode was inspired by a question that was asked at a local radio station here in Montreal. 

It’s called the Beat 92.5. I decided to call in and answer it because one, I’m a mom and two because I’m a professional organizer and I believe wholeheartedly in chores, in kids helping out and doing chores at home. If you’ve listened to my podcast episodes before, I do mention it, nine Ways to Get Kids to Help Out With Chores. So if you want to pause this episode and take a listen to that one, just head to diannejimenez.com/ 31 Alright, so let’s ask the question, why is it so hard to get my kid to do chores? 

Why’s it so hard for my kid to do chores: #1 Do they understand it (chores)?

Well, first off, and I’m gonna split this into three sections.

First off, do they understand why this needs to get done? And the reason is this: a lot of times as adults, we get motivated because there’s the why behind it. We’re more inclined to do things when we know the reason. If there’s no reason at all, where our hearts and minds are not really there to do it, then we might do it once or twice.  But the next time after that, if we’re asked to do it, it’s like, ‘well, I don’t really feel like doing it’.
So if we have that in mind, can you imagine what it is for the kids? What’s going on in their minds? You know, so they’re still developing and those, I guess, I don’t know, the science behind it is the reason. There might be a reason why with your brain or something that we don’t get motivated to do things unless there’s a concrete reason why.

Now, for us as adults, obviously, you know, the house needs to be maintained. We don’t wanna be breathing all this dust, we don’t wanna be walking on Legos and hurting our feet or you know, inviting all types of rodents or bugs into the house, even though bugs do crawl in our house all the time. But just the thought of crumbs, a mess and food all over the place, it’s just not healthy and it’s not good, obviously.

34: Why’s It So Hard For My Kid To Do Chores Read More »

#31: 9 Ways To Get Your Kids To Help With Chores

This episode provides key tips and information on how to get kids to help with chores while instilling useful life skills. It discusses how to make it engaging by setting up a chore chart, dividing tasks, offering incentives, and breaking down complex tasks into manageable pieces. It also highlights the importance of setting a good example, being consistent and patient with teaching kids, and acknowledging their efforts. Plus get an eye-opening example straight from a client’s own experience.
If you’re struggling with getting kids to help out at home, this episode is for you.

#31: 9 Ways To Get Your Kids To Help With Chores Read More »

#26: Teaching kids about Getting the house ready for guests 

Teaching Kids About Prepping The House For Guests

In today’s episode I’m talking about getting the house ready for when guests come over. Now,  I know YOU know how to do this already… I’m talking about Teaching Kids  this skill.

If you have school-aged kids who are asking for their friends to come over, but you also want to step it up a notch, then this episode could be the one that arms you with a new direction, another perspective or even just inspires you to test some chores out with your kids.

In this episode you’ll learn:
– When’s the perfect time to bring the chore conversation up, aka ‘How do I get my kids motivated to do chores?’

– The steps I take when teaching my kids how to get the house ready before their friends arrive, where we touch on boundaries and ownership.

– Then we’ll touch on the differences between cleaning, organizing and tidying up and finally, 

– Which spaces to target when there’s little time to prep

#26: Teaching kids about Getting the house ready for guests  Read More »

shows a child who organized crayons by color

#24: Organizing School Supplies With Kids – An Easy Step By Step Plan

This episode is like a mini training where I’m going to help guide you, step by step, into organizing school supplies, so that everything’s ready for the next school year. But here’s the thing, if you’ve been the one taking care of all the school supplies in the past, slowly organizing things over the summer, or nipping it in the bud at the start of summer, no no, not anymore. If you know me by now, follow me on social media and listen to a few episodes, you know I’m all about getting the kids involved when it comes to organizing our homes and lives.

So let’s go!

First off, if you’re wondering “Why do this now?” Let me paint a picture for you:

Say, we take the same scenario I just mentioned a minute ago where the school books and supplies are either still in your kids’ school bags somewhere in the house or scattered here and there in different piles. It’s clutter that’s not only taking up physical space but mental real estate too because, you know it needs to be dealt with. The thing is, it just keeps getting pushed to the bottom of your ever growing ‘to-do’ list and then sits in your mind all summer long.

And imagine it being close to another school year and you’re overwhelmed and scratching your head at all the extra supplies you need to get when you could have sworn you got new school supplies last year. So where is everything?

Or, it’s crunch time now and with the summer ending, fall activities to register for and plan your schedule around , along with doctors and dentist appointments to book….now you have to deal with organizing school supplies so they start the year off right: with everything they need. But time, as always, is running out!

I know there are so many more situations and scenarios similar to these in many households, but what do they all have in common? They all end up leaving parents frustrated, annoyed, not wanting to deal with it and then mentally depleted. ….. And the school year hasn’t even begun yet!

How can we avoid all those unnecessary feelings?

Nip it in the bud now.Today or give yourself a week to finish this simple and easy task and don’t do it alone. I know it could go a lot faster if it’s just you and it’s SOOO tempting to take it all and get it done and over with. I HEAR you! I’ve done this myself over the years. But now, I do things differently: I take every moment I could as a teaching moment . More importantly though, you’re here right now – following this podcast show – because deep down, you also don’t want things to always fall on you, right?

I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it over and over again: Life stuff, household stuff, organizing it, maintaining it all and everything in between – doesn’t always have to fall all on you. It’s not why you’re here in this world. As parents, we are their first teachers so, teach what you know how to do. Your future self and your kids will thank you for it – I promise!

Now, could you imagine taking care of this task, EARLY in the summer: how much more good energy will be created from within you because you just ticked off another item off of your to-do list? And even MORE good feelings because you’re teaching and involving the kids to take care of their things! All the more reason to get started now with organizing school supplies!

#24: Organizing School Supplies With Kids – An Easy Step By Step Plan Read More »

#21: Teach Kids How To Store Their Papers

Recently a mom friend sent me a message out of the blue asking me about a very popular issue most parents with pre-school and school-aged children struggle with, myself included – until I had a strategy and action plan.

What I liked about how she framed it is that it wasn’t your TYPICAL Google search question. This went deeper in thought even though the results were the same: containing the clutter and giving the items a home.

I absolutely LOVED this question because it was about nipping the issue at the bud and addressing the behavior as opposed to finding organizing solutions using physical things like better furniture or using separators like bins or file folders. These are all great solutions to contain the clutter and chaos but it DOESN’T solve the ultimate problem: how we go about dealing with our things.

I get it, we’re all looking for quick fixes and solutions to deal with the chaos and disorganization in our home. With free shipping and next-day delivery, it’s so easy now to get our hands on things that will help solve our situation. But, is it REALLY solving the underlying issue?

If we don’t have strategies and plans set beforehand when new items come into our home or when we see a sale or deep discounted items, we’re SOOO tempted to take advantage of these hot deals that we buy more than we really need, or have space for. Our home, our space feels cramped and our minds become cluttered too: having to deal with organizing and managing the excess.

Well, in this case, it’s not about deals or sales but it is about items that keep coming in from the creative minds of our little ones…and they produce some REALLY beautiful, heartwarming, almost magical things… WE want to keep them all. And why not? They came from the most wonderful beings in the world – our children!

And if the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, well you better believe your kids will also want to keep every masterpiece that they’ve created.

So….how do we nip things at the bud, or address the root cause? Well, the title of this episode gives it all away: Teach Kids How To Store Their Papers

#21: Teach Kids How To Store Their Papers Read More »