One of the best things we can do for kids at a young age is to give them responsibilities and encourage them to be part of daily routines in a house. This doesn’t have to be too complicated and what is appropriate for children of different ages and developmental levels varies. Even if you have a child who is developing at a different pace than other children their age, there are a lot of reasons you should encourage them to do some chores to help around the house. Let’s begin by talking about the benefits of having kids be involved with chores around the house.
1. The most important part of a child having age-appropriate chores is that they feel like they are an important and meaningful member of their family. By giving children a couple responsibilities, you tell them that they have a purpose and are respected.
2. Having young kids have chores will help them with developing executive functioning skills such as following directions, encourages sequencing and organizational skills and works on improving focus, attention and task completion.
3. Not only is it helpful to have more hands helping during cleanup, it fosters independence, responsibility and good work ethic at a young age.
4. Cleaning up and having age-appropriate jobs around the house help with developing motor planning and organizational skills.
5. Depending on the chores, kids can work on developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improve hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills, work on improving gross motor skills and helps with increasing endurance.
Up next, let’s talk about what kinds of chores are appropriate for kids based on their level of development and their age. I am going to share below what kinds of chores
Toddlers (2 and 3 years old)-the great thing about this age is that they are naturally curious about everything and want to help and be part of the action. Their fine motor, gross motor and language skills are all exploding so starting at around age 2, you can expect them to do more than just put their toys away. Here are some chores for toddlers:
-put toys in correct bins or on shelves when done playing
-wash fruits and vegetables during meal prep
-help with filling your pets water or food bowls
-help with making their beds by organizing their stuffed animals and putting their pillow on the bed
-helping put non-breakable dishes and cups into the dishwasher
-put their dirty clothes in the laundry basket
Preschoolers/Younger School Age Kids (4-6 years old)-at this age, a little more encouragement may be required but kids are definitely more independent, responsible and can follow more complex directions. They have more developed motor skills and improved coordination so the expectations can be raised at this point. And if all else fails, we know that kids this age can also be encouraged with some kind of sticker/reward chart. Here are some chores for preschoolers and young school age children:
-putting toys and books away
-make their own beds
-empty their lunchboxes after school
-get the mail from the mailbox
-help make put their lunches together. This is why I encourage using Bento lunch boxes. Not only can you offer a bit more variety to their lunches, they can be lunch maker assistant.
-have your kids help with simple meal prep such as cutting up vegetables using something like these kid friendly Montessori Kitchen Set. Kids should always be supervised when using any of these kitchen tools.
-have them help with putting some of the groceries away after shopping
Elementary School Age Kids (7-9/10 years old)-again, this is the time you might need to be creative about how you get kids to agree to and actually follow through on chores. This might be the time that you consider establishing an allowance and the benefit of that is you now begin to start financial responsibility to your kids. At this age, kids have a much better understanding of cause and effect and can predict consequences of not following through on their chores. This is an opportunity to give your kids less but more meaningful chores. Here are some chores for your elementary school aged kids:
-setting the table before a meal and cleaning up after meals including loading dishes in the dishwasher
-making their own bed
-introduce folding and putting away their own laundry
-fill up and empty the dishwasher
-feed family pets
-if you have a dog, take it for a short walk
-clean their rooms independently
Tweens (10-12 years old)-this is a tricky age because they really want to be doing their own thing but probably the most important time to establish expectations in your household to maintain routines and connections with your kids who want to be independent. This is actually a great time to introduce life skills that they will need as they continue to grow up and become more and more independent. You can begin to introduce multi-step chores because they have more advanced executive functioning and sequencing skills. Here are some chores for you tweens:
-this is a great age to let your older kids help with watching their younger siblings for short periods of time
-teach them how to do basic laundry tasks such as sorting whites/darks, putting them in the washing machine and into the dryer
-bringing garbage and recycling out
-feeding family pets and taking them out for walks
-watering houseplants
-begin to teach them about creating grocery lists. If they discover that the family is out of something, be sure to write it on the grocery list
-seasonal chores such as helping with shoveling snow and raking leaves
Lastly, I am going to share some things you can get for home to help kids with being part of chores:
Personalized Chore Chart-visuals are good for all kids, but they are especially helpful for any child how has learning challenges or language delays. For some kids the ability to complete chores may be reliant on a good visual chart that clearly lays out the expectations. I love this chore chart that I found on Etsy because it allows you to write in your child’s chores and comes with a bunch of stickers so if they can’t read, they have the picture to help guide them encouraging independence. For some kids, you might simply but in their chores but for others you might want to switch it up and add some daily routines (brushing teeth, going potty, etc.) to it. Once the child has completed the task, they can slide the tab that shows they have done what was expected.
Toddler Kitchen Stool Helper-I wish I had had this when my daughter was younger because it would have made her helping out in the kitchen so much easier. From a very young age, she loved being part of the cooking and baking action in the kitchen but we were always finding safe ways to make it happen. This stool would have been the perfect thing because it would have brought her to the right level while standing up which provides a lot more control and balance while helping with pouring ingredients into the bowl, helping with fruit and veggie cutting and so much more. This is not just helpful for the kitchen, it’s great for getting kids at the right level when in the bathroom to brush their teeth, wash their hands and whatever else they need to do. This stool comes in a range of colors and is adjustable making it appropriate for toddlers to younger school-age kids.
Kid Friendly Knife and Cooking Set-I love this cooking set because it comes with all kinds of kitchen tools that are actually safe for little hands. Obviously, kids should only use them under the supervision of a grown-up and should only use them after practicing on super soft foods that are easier to cut. This 28-piece set comes with different sized knives, a cutting board, vegetable peeler, fruit cutters, a bear sandwich mold and so much more. Having kids help with cooking, baking and meal-prep helps with improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills and builds confidence and self-esteem.
Wooden Cleaning Set-this is a super cute gift for a toddler and it will allow them to help you with little cleanups around the house. This set comes with a duster, a mop, a broom, a dust pan and a dust pan brush with a convenient stand to hold everything. I have found that kids are way more likely to help if they have their own equipment and this set is ideal. My daughter had one when she was little and loved helping us around our apartment when we were cleaning up and it made her feel so happy to be part of the action. Helping with cleaning using a dust pan brush or a broom helps with increasing strength and endurance, works on improving hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills
Pick Up Bricks Vacuum-I am obsessed with this vacuum intended to pick up Legos and other small toys (which my kid had TONS of growing up!) and it is a great thing to have on hand for kids to help you with clean-up. This not only picks up the toys, it can pick up dust, crumbs and dirt and separates that into one section of the vacuum. This light-weight but durable vacuum was meant for little hands and will certainly motivate your little ones to get into the cleaning up mood!