How household chores can be fun and educational
Surprisingly, we’ve found that children love to get involved in different chores. One of the main reasons is because they love to imitate what you’re doing – if you’re folding clothes, they might want to get involved and ‘fold’ their own clothes. The great thing is that children can learn a lot from doing chores. It helps establish a sense of responsibility and independence, and teaches children skills that they will need in everyday life. Cleaning, cooking, organising are skills that will never grow old.
How to get children involved
It’s important to start by choosing chores that are appropriate for your child’s abilities and stage of development. If you choose a chore that is too easy for your child, it will become repetitive and boring. If the task is too challenging, your child will become frustrated and likely develop a dislike for doing housework.
Here are some great chores for different age groups
2-3 years
– Putting away toys or books when they are finished playing
– Carrying their own plate to the sink after eating
– Help set the table for meals
3-6 years
– Teach them how to pour their own water
– Cleaning up after meal times
– Emptying leftover food into the compost bin
– Cleaning up toys before moving onto a different activity
– Help to prepare food with adult supervision
– Help to put away groceries after a trip to the supermarket
6-12 years
– Water plants
– Empty the trash bin
– Walk the dogs with an adult
– Feed the pets
– Prepare some light meals with supervision
– Sweep and mop the floors
– Help wash the dishes after meals
– Help hang up clothes after laundry
Avoid using chores as a form of punishment
Using anything as punishment pretty much guarantees that your child will end up disliking it. Instead, you want to use positive reinforcement – whenever your child completes a chore, praise them or reward them using a rewards chart. This way, your child will view chores more positively and benefit from doing them.
Do chores together
If a child is struggling to develop an interest in doing household chores, encourage them by doing the chores together as a family. Often, children want their parents to be included in their activities. Demonstrate resilience and your child may end up imitating you. Doing chores as a family will also help your child foster a sense of teamwork.
At times like these, chores are particularly useful because they can be done at home, and they need to be done anyway. We might as well make the most out of them!
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