11 things to keep Tet from becoming a useless holiday for your children

1. Help your child fix up the house

Many families buy more furniture and repaint their houses to welcome Tet. If the work is not too hard, parents can invite their children to help. For example: Children can paint the house with their father. The small cracks in the walls and corners will be the children's responsibility and a small paint brush, suggests Dr. Vu Thu Huong, former lecturer of the Faculty of Primary Education, Hanoi National University of Education.

2. Clean the house to welcome spring

Let your children clean the house with you. Photo: Homecleanz.

Housekeeping is tiring, especially for families with small children. But they can all help their parents if asked. Timely praise will make them more enthusiastic and will help keep the house cleaner.

3. Let your child participate in the shopping preparation process.

The whole family can discuss what they will buy for Tet. If your child can read and write, you can ask him or her to be the secretary to write down the items to buy. This will make your child feel more grown up.

4. Go shopping with your child

Many parents take their children to the Tet market with them, but very few parents give their children the responsibility of shopping. This is actually not difficult for children. Parents can take this opportunity to teach their children about shopping skills, such as choosing the items to buy, checking the production date, expiry date, quantity... of the item. When shopping, remember to tell your children to choose frozen items last so they don't thaw before getting home. When going to the market with the family, children will be more obedient, neat and mature.

5. Prepare banh chung with your child

When she was only 5 years old, Huong's parents let her wrap her first banh chung, and for her, it was a wonderful experience that she will never forget. Children can wrap banh chung if they have careful guidance from their parents. Letting children wrap banh chung helps them learn life skills and experience Tet clearly and authentically.

6. Prepare nice clothes

Children have their own preferences in clothing, so letting them choose their own clothes, drying them, and folding them neatly will help them be more excited about Tet.

7. Plan your fun

Going to wish a happy new year, where to go for a spring trip, how to go... are things that parents often calculate. The family should discuss these things together and let their children participate in making serious plans. In addition, parents should also instruct their children on how to greet, thank, apologize, wish a happy new year, how to receive lucky money envelopes, how to keep money from being lost, how to keep quiet when adults are talking, how to eat politely... Children who are instructed in advance will certainly be more obedient and polite than those who are not.

8. Join grandparents and parents in worshiping ancestors

Ancestor worship is a Vietnamese custom. Children should gradually approach this custom by joining the whole family in worshiping at the altar on Tet holiday. Children also learn the custom of waiting for the incense to burn out before receiving the blessing. This also helps children increase their patience.

9. Do Tet homework

To prevent your child from getting too tired with this amount of homework, parents should help them divide it into small groups. Each day, your child will complete a small group. Your child can take a break on the 30th, 1st, and 2nd of Tet, then, starting from the 3rd, your child will continue to complete the remaining groups. This will help your child quickly regain the spirit of studying after a long break.

10. Practice waking up early

Usually after a long break, children are reluctant to wake up early. However, parents should also train their children to wake up on time for school 2 or 3 days before the school day. Once the habit is gradually formed, when the child returns to class, he or she will not feel too shy and tired.

11. Happy to return to class

To make your child excited to go back to school, in addition to the above preparations, parents should prepare a package of candy/cake for their child to bring to class as a gift for their teacher and friends. This will make their child's first day of school after Tet much more enjoyable.

By doing the 11 things above, children will deeply feel the traditional Tet flavor, helping them learn more lessons in growing up.