Doing Hard Things

A couple of years ago I read a book entitled, Do Hard Things. This book is the personal story of two brothers whose parents weren't afraid of teaching their boys the value of hard work, determination, perseverance and goal setting. From school work, to chores, to Christian living....these boys have exceeded the average and excelled in areas that even most adults only dream of.

I've been thinking about my expectations of my own children and what I am teaching them by my life and by my instruction lately. We are out of school for three months and I don't want this to be a summer full of channel surfing and sun bathing. While there will be time for that, I want them to learn a little about teamwork, hard work and determination. So, we started with some simple chores yesterday.

Scrubbing down cabinets

 Does Anyone Else have a tupperware cabinet that looks like this?????

All in all this lesson only took about 20-30 minutes, but let me tell you what was neat to see later in the day. When Bruce got home he asked the kids what they had been up to and they were eager to tell him about their chores they had helped with. There was a certain pride in learning to organize and scrub....and doing something a little more difficult than just making a bed or gathering laundry....which yes, they still have to do!

So....here's a question....What kind of chores to do have your kids do? Do you think it's important to teach them harder things (in all areas) or can it wait til they are older and bigger? I'd love to hear your thoughts on these points.