Mom teaches son to pick up the 'invisible load' at home and it's something every parent should do

Playing your part in a household without being told is probably the most important part of keeping everything running smoothly. However, a child who is still getting the hang of things would likely wait for instructions. So, a mom on Instagram shared ways in which she is teaching her son to notice the invisible workload in their house and to do things without being told. The woman, Payal, who goes by @payalforstyle on Instagram, took to the platform to share how she does it to help other parents do the same.

"Teaching my son that helping with the 'invisible load' means knowing/noticing what needs to be done, then doing it without being asked," the text overlay of the video read. In the clip, the son was washing his lunch box himself as his mom washed the water bottle. The caption read, "New routines around here. Knowing and noticing what needs to be done, then doing it without anyone needing to 'nag' or remind. Lunch boxes and water bottles for now." People took to the comments section of the video to share their thoughts on the same.

@therealaqsalence wrote, "His wife will thank you one day!! Good job! Thank you for reminding the world that household chores are not only a woman’s job." @esh_kay commented, "Teaching a child to observe and help without being asked is such a valuable life lesson. It's a great executive functioning skill." @chicanadian remarked, "This! Because, for some reason, a lot of men think women have this secret handbook for knowing what and how to do stuff around the house! No - it’s just us noticing what needs to be done and doing it."

Sam Kelly, who goes by @samkelly_world on the platform, shared a text thread explaining how parents could make their kids take initiative when it comes to chores. "Start by providing the familiarity of structure and ownership over specific responsibilities that a chore chart has (but with slight differences)," Kelly began. The feminist coach encouraged people to give their children tasks that they are responsible for and capable of doing every day. "My kids know that every day they are expected to do their 'big three' plus one 'notice and do' of their choosing." The woman also pointed out that it is a good idea to teach kids what their family's expectation of a task well done is. "I just establish what 'resetting a room/space,' for example, looks like for our family so we are all on the same page as far as expectations of what qualifies for their daily 'notice and do' of their choosing."

She highlighted that the kids should be told in steps what needs to be done and how to notice things and offered support before they start doing things on their own. "Create a visual reminder that they can see easily every day." Kelly added, "To start, have a designated time during the day when they make sure they've done their 'big three' as well as their 'notice and do.'" However, she also suggested that different kids would pick up on things at different paces and it is necessary to keep a child's unique personality in mind. The woman went on, "Once they have their current big three down pat, transition to a new big three to add on to what they are already doing while also maintaining the expectation that they have to practice choosing a 'notice and do' daily." Lastly, the coach advised people to see learning as a process.

You can follow Payal (@payalforstyle) and Sam Kelly (@samkelly_world) on Instagram for more family-related content.