I was the middle child of two boys. My mom had her hands full as a stay at home mom (for much of my childhood). And then she went back to work as an elementary school teacher. Needless to say, she needed help around the house. Because she didn’t believe in hiring house cleaners, she started us young on doing chores. Here’s how to start kids on doing chores.
Remember to Consider Age Groups and Ability First
I myself also don’t use a house cleaning service. Therefore, all the chores of the house are on me.
And my child.
However, it’s important that I consider age and ability. First things first, I’ve always cleaned up in front of her. I feel like she really notices especially now how hard I work. And believe me, even with only one kid, I am constantly picking up, sweeping, wiping down, throwing or clearing out.
it’s important that children see us doing these things as they will accept it as a part of daily life.
Always keep in mind ability, Obviously, infants/babies are only capable of watching.
Toddlers who can move are capable of putting away things such as their own toys back into boxes. They can also wipe and my toddler loves to help sweep. Vacuum noises used to scare her a little but she’s learned to love it,.
How to Start Kids on Chores
First things first: Make a list of chores. Just in general of things you need done that would be age appropriate as to how capable your child is.
It cane look something like:
- Bedrooms-Vacuum, dust, put away items and pick up things from the ground.
- Living rooms: Pick up all items from floor, sweep/vacuum and dust
- Laundry-Separate whites/colors.
- Kitchen; Pick up all items from floor, sweep, help mop, wipe down tables/counters.
- Throw out trash.
Then when the chores are decided make a chore chart. Have your child complete each task daily/weekly/monthly (according to the necessity of when things needs to be done).
For instance, things such as making beds or wiping off counters should be done daily. But a thorough bathroom scrub down including toilets/showers would probably be done weekly.
Figure out Some Kind of Incentive For Completing Chores
Now this is a tricky part for some parents. I’ve heard of some parent philosophies where the kids should do chores because they are a part of household. Therefore they do not get “rewarded” for doing something they are supposed to do.
I get this to an extent, I definitely believe children should be taught to clean up after themselves just because it’s the right thing to do. And not because they are being paid to do it.
However, I do believe that some extra chores should also be rewarded or incentivized. Because in a way it’s almost like the child’s first job. They are learning work ethic. And let’s face it, we are work for some kind of reward.
Rewards/Incentives can be:
- A monetary weekly allowance.
- Extra time doing something they love.
- A specific item they want that they have to “work” for
- A special trip they want to take.
Remember these are Lifelong Habits/Skills You are Teaching
Chores are more than just daily housework to help maintain the house. You are teaching your children lifelong skills of discipline and work ethic.
Plus, they need to know how to do laundry. We all know that one friend who was clueless about basic life skills such as laundry or cooking when they got to college.
