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Teaching your child how to be a do-it-yourselfer around the house can have multiple benefits. Here are some tips to get them involved.
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Hey Dads, you don’t need to be the only do-it-yourself fanatic in the house. Involving your kids little by little in your DIY projects will provide them with excellent opportunities to learn very valuable skills. DIYing is a great opportunity for some quality bonding time—and your child is better off constructing something with you than watching TV anyway.
Of course, the one thing you want to watch is to not be too hasty to involve your children in your DIY projects. Your toddler is not ready to grab the power tools quite yet. You must choose activities that will suit your child’s age and individual personality. Today you may teach your child how to glue together a bird house and down the road how to install winnipeg windows—you never know.
Here are some tips for involving your children in DIY projects:
Involve Them in Easy Tasks First
Before you show them how to use tools and hammer things, involve them in easy tasks that don’t require much skill, such as repainting bay windows. Toddlers and teens alike are interested in painting, so it will be a good start to introduce your children to the world of DIY without intimidating them. Show them how it’s done first, and then slowly assist them.
Buy Safety Gear
If you wish to involve your older children in hardcore DIY projects, do not forget to buy the necessary safety gear. Get eye protection goggles, gloves, aprons and helmets if necessary. Remember that some projects are not suitable for children even with safety gear. As the adult, you should be able to distinguish child-appropriate projects from the ones that are not.
Start With Their Room
Don’t expect them to be pros overnight—but teach them gradually how to master the craft.
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When there’s TV, games, internet and numerous other distractions, it can be difficult to get your child to do something with you. You can pique their interest if you start by making an alteration to their rooms. For example, you can take on a repainting project. You could make a “rainbow” fan by painting the blades of a regular table fan with your child. Another activity could be to repaint the walls of the children’s room with the help of the occupants. Likewise, show them how to improve their living space with their own little hands. That will interest them in learning to take on DIY projects and give them pride in their surroundings.
Buy Kid-Sized Tools
Do not let your child use any of the adult tools you own, even with supervision. Regular DIY tools are made with adults in mind, so little hands won’t be able to hold on to the handles for safe working. Therefore, buy kid-sized tools from a specialty store. Most are reasonably priced and you can find deals online on sites like Amazon, too. Beware that the cheapest ones (priced under $10) break easily and might pose a choking hazard.
Start Small
You can teach your child to hammer, saw and drill nails by starting slow with smaller tools. For example, to teach a small child how to use a hammer, get some bubble wrap and a kid hammer or a rubber mallet. Let him or her whack away at the bubble wrap. Then, slowly show them how to aim the whacking and do it without causing damage to surrounding objects. Likewise, you can use a keyhole saw and foam core to teach a grade school child how to saw.
Involving kids in your DIY projects will require a lot of patience. Don’t expect them to be pros overnight, and teach them gradually how to master the craft.
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Photo: GettyImages