Children can learn to do housework at a young age. Even young children can be taught to pick up their clothes and toys and put them away.
Preschool children should perform a wider variety of household chores. In our house, I keep my preschoolers’ to-do list short and simple, but they’ve come a long way in learning to clean up on their own.
Not too long ago, I was still helping my four-year-olds get dressed in the morning. That was one of the first tasks that was put on his task chart! I figured if I made it a “chore,” and if doing the chores gave them a special reward, they’d be more motivated to get dressed in the morning, and I was right.
Another chore I have my preschoolers do is putting the dishes in the sink after they eat, which includes putting the dishes in the trash first. The first few times I had to remind them to do it after eating, but it quickly became a new habit for them and they started doing it without even thinking about it.
Little kids have a way of making your home look like a tornado has ripped through it. Picking up all his toys day after day is really exhausting and some days I just want to give up. I don’t have my kids pick up every toy in the house, but every afternoon I have them do a general cleanup to put most of their toys back 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 put their toys in.
At night, my children put on their own pajamas and brush their teeth. There are many mouthwashes 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 kids choose a small toy from a “treasure” box I put together to reward them for doing their homework. This box is filled with little plastic lizards, frogs, stickers, temporary tattoos, and other small toys. You’d think a kid wouldn’t go to all that trouble just for a small temporary tattoo, but you’d be surprised. The novelty still hasn’t worn off for my kids, even after several months. They really want to choose their treasure every night.
My main goal in choosing these easy chores for my kids was to get them to start doing the things for themselves that I do for them day in and day out. It frees up more time for other household chores and they are learning to take on more responsibility to take care of themselves.