Mother's Day is a wonderful opportunity for the family to show how much they care. It's a day that children can really take pleasure in buying something simple like a pot plant or box of chocolates to give as a gift, to let their mothers know how much they love them and appreciate all that they do for them.

And it's not just the young who can show their thanks. While you're enjoying your breakfast in bed - if you're lucky! - you're probably thinking just as much about your own mum and how she's been there for you over the years. A mother's work is never done and even when our children leave home and move on a mother continues to think about their well-being and whether they're getting enough to eat!

But while you sit back and enjoy the fruits of your children's cooking look to the year ahead and how now might be the time to instigate some small changes to ensure that you're getting as much help as possible and not taking on all the chores around the home yourself. Giving children responsibility is an important way of making them feel involved in family life. While you don't want to overburden a child with responsibilities and take away the joys of childhood, you may find that once your kids have got over the shock of having to make their own bed or unload this dishwasher it helps boost their self-esteem.

To make things easier let them know specifically what's expected of them and be realistic about what they can do. If necessary schedule in a time at the weekend for the chore to be done and be specific. Instead of simply saying tidy your room go through each individual task - make the bed, stack bookshelf neatly, bring down dirty cups and glasses etc. If you start a weekly rota for each of them to clean the bathroom write down in detail what that entails and what products they should use. They'll be thrilled to know that new Flash with Flashguard will make their task even easier and they won't have to spend hours trying to get rid of stubborn grime.

Be sensitive to the fact children of different ages will have differing capabilities and don't try and enforce unreasonable standards. If you're prepared for the odd protest at the beginning you'll soon be rewarded and so will they. By helping with a few simple tasks you will be giving your child the chance to show what they are capable of and if you don't keep checking up on them all the time you will be showing that you have faith in what they are doing. Your child will develop a sense of importance and commitment and it will help give them a sense of purpose.

You, in the meantime, will have more time to take your own mum out for the odd treat to let her know that she's special all year round too!