Restoration Home Episode 178: Simple Steps to Build Habits of Work with Jennifer Pepito

Episode 178 of the Restoration Home with Jennifer Pepito is all about Mrs. Moody, the beloved mother from the Ralph Moody series Little Britches.The episode has 5 lessons we can learn when it comes to building in our children the habit of work. 

         1. Mrs. Moody modelled the work ethic she expected from her children. 

She didn't leave them to work on their own, nor did she give them jobs while sitting idly by. Instead, she worked side by side with her children. What parents don't often realise is how much their children crave their cheerful presence. If a child can work and be engaged with their parent, often the work will be enjoyable. So often though, we send children off to work alone or allow our own distaste for a particular chore to shine through in how we act while mopping the floors or weeding the garden. 

        2. Mrs. Moody didn't berate her children when they made mistakes, or when things were imperfectly done. 

In one memorable story, she sent her children down to clean out the root cellar. Out of curiosity, they tried the fruit preserves that they were ordered to toss out. A taste led to another led which led to whole jars of "fizzy" preserves being consumed. The accidentally inebriated children then began splashing the preserves around. When their mother found them, she did not scold. She took responsibility for her lack of oversight, the fact that she hadn't got rid of the preserves sooner, and simply put her children to bed. 

        3. Mrs. Moody rewarded her children for their work 

There is a debate on whether rewarding children for work is good for the long-term development of a work ethic or detrimental, but the truth is all of us are motivated by rewards. So, when your children do well, or when there is a particularly onerous task ahead of them, learn from Mrs. Moody and give them an afternoon by a creek, a chance to bake cookies with you, or something similar to look forward to. 

       4. Mrs. Moody protected her children from the weight of work beyond their age.

While we will never be faced with a situation where we might need our 12 year old to drop out of school to support the family, we can often lean too heavily on one or all of our children. For example, if a guest comes over and you discover afterwards that the bathroom was imperfectly clean, making that child inappropriately carry the weight of your embarrassment over the dirty bathroom is putting a "weight of work" beyond their years him. 

     5. Mrs. Moody developed habits of work by allowing her children to feel like a part of the family team. 

When children feel needed, when they feel like their work contributes meaningfully to the well-being of the family, it builds in them a positive identity around work. As James Clear put so well in his book Atomic Habits, the habits that stick are the ones that become a part of our identity. 

For the full episode check out the episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.