Team building doesn't start at work, school or sports club. Team building starts at home in the family. No matter how big or small the family is.
When a child is born, it is ready to take its place in the family.
Meanwhile, the family has time to adjust before the child grows to an age where they can step into their share of the family and household.
Depending on the age, the child starts to participate, even if it's just putting shoes away or taking something out of a dishwasher and handing it to a parent or an older sibling.
Kids should be given the option to estimate their ability and offer the tasks they can do themselves.
The older they get, the more they participate in cooking dinner or getting ready to host.
We are doing everything together. We work together and play together (not just play together). Each has their fair share that matches their ability. We all have a common goal. We are a household, we are family, and we are a team.
It is very uncomfortable for parents, especially in the beginning. Won't you agree that cooking dinner with a toddler is more complex than without? Washing floors after they spill something is faster than teaching them how to wash it. Going shopping by yourself is more pleasant than explaining every time why we are getting one item and won't get the other.
We get our kids toys that would keep them occupied and away so “we can do our job.”
Or we don't involve our kids in “hard work” because we think we are doing them a favour by delaying the time before they work. As some parents say, “our kids get their entire life to work, so while I’m alive, I’ll offer them more fun times, so they at least get their childhood.”
And other parents will punish kids with household work.
We are then surprised that kids (read employees) grow up and complain about their chores, feel entitled, and that parents (read employer) provide and “are nice” to them. They demand unconditional love and their rights.
Teamwork is like healthy eating. Some people think that my healthy eating habits had to be trained, and I had to put in a lot of effort and willpower to eat like this all the time. So they constantly ask me for hacks and tricks.
Little do they know that it’s my lifestyle, a pleasant second nature. That’s how we ate in our family my entire life. This is why I can’t offer any hacks; I don’t know any.
Teamwork is a lifestyle, too; it comes effortlessly. If it has to be trained, there’s always a struggle, cheat days, depression etc., trained (aka forced) rather than be.
People know they should eat healthily, but a lot of the time, they don’t.
People know they should be team players, but a lot of the time, they are not.
People are people. Some train to be. Some just are.
The ones who are, have an easier life.
The ones who train don’t see their advantages. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be training in something they lack or think they need to improve themselves.
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