Household Chores -- Get Your Kids to Help

If you have young children, chances are you have grown accustomed to seeing toys strewn about, empty cups on the table, and dirty clothes on the floor instead of in the hamper. You are probably used to seeing empty snack food wrappers and napkins on the counter. It is not uncommon to see extra pillows and blankets and stuffed animals in the living room. And, if you are like many parents, you are the one who ends up dealing with most of this extra mess.

Perhaps you tell yourself that it is easier if you just clean up. After all, it would take longer to get your young kids to help out, right? Wrong-not if you set up a chore system for your kids.

Yes, even young kids can be responsible for daily chores. In fact, it is actually a good idea to start kids out doing chores when they are young because that way they become used to doing them and it isn't a battle when they get older. (Now, I'm not promising that you won't have to nag your kids when they get older-only that chores will be an accepted part of their lives.)

So, when can you start your children doing chores? You can begin assigning chores as soon as your children are old enough to follow basic directions. This means that as soon as your kids understand when you tell them that their toys belong in the toy box, for example, they are old enough to help out. Of course, at this young age they do need a lot of guidance and assistance, but it is important to have them begin helping-if your children see that Mommy will pick up all of their toys, they will start to think that Mommy is supposed to pick up their toys.

The best way to get children to begin doing chores is to give them motivation to do so. I have found that a simple chart works wonders in doing this. You can make one yourself-it doesn't have to be fancy or difficult. Take a blank sheet of paper and make several boxes in rows. Then, each time your child completes a chore, he can put a sticker in one of the boxes-and, after he gets a certain number of stickers (or after he completes a row of boxes), he gets a special treat. The treat can be anything from extra playtime with Mommy, a trip to the park, making cookies, or anything your child likes.

As your child gets older, consider putting him in charge of his chores and his chart. A simple way to do this is to get a magnet board and some magnetic tape. Lay a line of electrical tape down the middle of the board. Draw a picture (or download a clipart picture) of each chore that your child must do, cut it out, and attach it to a piece of magnetic tape (you may want to laminate your pictures or cover them with clear contact paper first). Then, put all of the pictures on one side of the electrical tape. As your child completes a chore, he can move the magnet to the other side of the electrical tape. Once all of the magnets have been moved, everyone will know that the child is done with all of his chores. Older children may be required to do their chores each day in order to earn an allowance, perhaps.

Now, you are probably wondering what types of chores children can or should be doing at certain ages. Of course, this will vary depending upon your household and your children, but here are some suggested chores that kids can do and the ages at which they can likely do them:

Ages 2 - 3

--Help put away toys

--Put unbreakable dishes in the sink

--Dust with a Swiffer-type duster

Ages 4 - 5

--Put unbreakable dishes in the dishwasher

--Help clean with disinfectant wipes (such as Lysol wipes); make sure to have child wash hands well afterwards

--Help gather and sort laundry by color

--Make the bed

Ages 6 - 8

--Run the vacuum

--Empty small trash cans around the house

--Help put away groceries

These are just suggestions, remember; your children may be capable of doing different types of chores. And, you may have chores that would be specific to your household, ones that wouldn't necessarily apply to other families. For example, in our house we drink a lot of bottled water and other single-serve drinks that we would like to have cold. So, we have our 4-year-old son in charge of making sure that we always have a good supply of bottles of water in the refrigerator; our 6-year-old is in charge of making sure that there are enough cans of pop (for Mom and Dad) and 100% juice boxes (for the kids).

There are two important ideas to remember about chores for kids-first of all, choose chores that your children can do. It won't do anyone any good if you expect your child to make his bed and he simply can't do it (such as for my 6-year-old-his is the top bunk, so he really can't make it very well). Secondly, be consistent with your expectations. Make sure that your kids know that they chores are things that they must do every day, not just every now and then. If you aren't consistent, the chores will not become second nature to your children and you will find yourself doing a lot more nagging.

Once you get started having your kids help you with the household chores, you will feel much better, I'm sure. And really, your entire family should be helping anyway-they all live there, so they should all be expected to contribute to the household. Plus, completing chores gives children a sense of satisfaction, and it also teaches them useful life skills. Sure, your children may balk a little bit at first, but be persistent-chores are a good thing for your family. Get started today and good luck!