Children can learn to do household chores at an early age. Even young children can be taught to pick up their clothes and toys and put them away.
Preschoolers should do a wider variety of household chores. At home, I keep my preschoolers’ to-do list short and simple, but they’ve come a long way in learning how to clean up their mess.
Not long ago, I was still helping my four-year-olds get dressed in the morning. That was one of the first tasks to be listed on her task table! I thought if I made it a “chore”, and if doing chores would give them a special reward, then they would be more motivated to get dressed in the morning, and he was right.
Another chore my preschoolers have to do is put their dishes in the sink after they eat, including scraping the dishes into the garbage can first. The first few times I had to remind them to do it after eating, but very quickly it became a new habit for them and they started doing it without even thinking about it.
Young children have a way of making their home look like a tornado is going through it. Picking up all his toys day after day gets really tiring, and some days I just want to give up. I don’t have my children collect all the toys in the house, but every afternoon I ask them to do a general cleaning so that they keep most of their toys where they belong. If you label the containers, this exercise is also a great way to teach them simple words as they search for the correct container to store their toys.
At night, my children put on their own pajamas and brush their teeth. There are many rinses available that make brushing teeth fun for kids … Who wouldn’t want their teeth to turn blue? My children look forward to brushing their teeth every night.
Every night before bed, my children can choose a small toy from a box of “treasures” that I prepare to reward them for doing their chores. This box is filled with small plastic lizards, frogs, stickers, temporary tattoos, and other small toys. You’d think a kid wouldn’t go to so much trouble just for a small temporary tattoo, but they’d be shocked. The novelty has not yet worn off for my children, even after several months. They really want to choose their treasure every night.
My main goal in choosing these simple tasks for my children was for them to start doing the things for themselves that I do for them day after day. It frees up more of my time for other household chores and they are learning to take on more responsibilities to take care of themselves.
