What does work mean to an adult?
It is an expenditure of energy to obtain money, an outcome, a result or change in the environment they live in.
It is process to explore with experience to acquire knowledge.
It is a journey of experience to achieve a defined need or a desired outcome.
We always tell ourselves, to motivate ourselves to finish a task, we can reward ourselves with an apple or something.
For the child, there is no outcome or change in their environment to expect from in their journey. He does not not expect any reward if he finished a job well. He has to learn by doing, so that he can incarnate the images and impressions in his mind. This incarnation takes palace during consciously and subconsciously, the periods of which can span the entire childhood periods.
The child has to be shown, taught or demonstrated of start and finish by using the concept of time, work scheduling and activity flow. He has always perceived activity as a transitory process; there is not permanence.
To help him understand the concept how work begins and ends, we can introduce the word work in our daily conversations. When we say to the child, “Daddy is going to work love. He’ll be back to join us for dinner tonight.” , we are telling him about work. We also have to refer to the tasks we do at home like laundry, sweeping, wiping, cliening, vacuuming, dusting, watching television or even walking as work. We do not have to explain to him about money, as the desirable outcome of performing the tasks, as work itself does not the tangible reward that may be attached to it. The child understands what work means if we tell them: “Mummy is sewing the button on dad’s shirt.” “Dad is trying to fix the car.” “Your elder sister is cleaning her school shoes,” or “Daddy, would you like me to pour milk in your tea?”
When we use verbs such as sew, fix, clean and pour, we need to emphasise that these are work in motion or action. We will tell him that work means using our energy to move and carry out the tasks. We define what we want to do from the start. Consider these two sentences:
“Let’s tidy up your room” and “Let’s put the toys back in the shelves.” Both sentences call upon us to get up and start cleaning up the room by putting things away in the shelves. However, the first sentence does not specify what the child has to do. He will probably stare at the mess and does not how to start. By being specific, he will be able to follow the instruction more readily. “Put away” goes with an action: toys in boxes or shelves. “Back” means return them. Bit by bit, you rephrase the sentence to “Let’s hang your clothes here in the cupboard.” It is very easy to get the kid to help him hep himself and you too around the house. Be specific when you express your need.
You do not have to reward the child: the reward for him is the ability to complete the task to satisfaction. That is his reward.
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