Yes, Even Little Kids Can Help with Household Chores!

Isn’t it amazing how even the littlest of kids today know how to turn on Mommy’s iPhone and can play a DS or a Wii with their older siblings? Kids who are barely in preschool know how to turn on the TV, and some even know how to work the microwave, too. Much has been said by parents about how tech savvy our little ones are, and many of us are intrigued by how much these little minds can do at such a young age.

Yet when it comes to doing household chores, many parents feel as though young and even older kids alike cannot help with basic chores. Often parents make such excuses as the kids are too little to reach or they cannot be around cleansing solutions. While it’s true that you certainly don’t want your four year old near a bottle of bleach-based cleanser or ammonia, there are quite a few things that these very capable little people can (and should) do for you. After all, chores teach responsibility among other things, and this is far more important for a child to learn than how to turn an iPhone on and play with the apps! There are many tasks little ones can help with, and here are just a few.

Dishes. Younger and older kids alike can help with the dishes. You may want to put away the sharp knives and heavier objects, but kids can put the rest of the clean dishes away and can be taught how to rinse and place dishes in the dishwasher, too. If you don’t have one already, invest in a step stool so your kids can help put dishes away that belong in the upper cabinets.

Dusting. While you do want to be careful with dusting spray with truly little ones, even four and five year olds can be taught how to hold a spray can away from their faces and which surfaces of the home the spray is appropriate for. If you aren’t comfortable with that, simply send the kids around with a feather dust or dry dust cloth to wipe the furniture surfaces clean.

Laundry. Kids may not fold the laundry as quickly as you might, but why not show the kids how to fold a basic of laundry today? You can then pass future baskets of clean, dry clothes off to them to be folded the next time they sit down to watch TV.

The truth is that the sooner you get those fully capable hands busy helping you out with household chores, the less resistance you will hear about them helping out with chores when they are older. Most preschoolers absolutely love to help parents out. The next time they ask to help you, why not put some of these great ideas to use?

Here are a few other articles written by this author:

How Positive is Your Parenting?

Helping Your Kids Through Fights with Friends

Kids and Friend Drama: When to Step In


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