This new year is the perfect time to put your kids to work and set up healthy habits for a lifetime!
I’ve been working with kids for over 35 years and part of my job is to help kids get their room organised. Believe me when I tell you that I’ve seen it all! I’ve seen unflushed toilets, toys all over the house or mixed everywhere, missing parts in game boxes, dirty clothes and wet towels on the bathroom or bedroom floor, books all unorganized… and parents having a real hard-time to make their kids pick up and clean up!
I teach kids how to tidy the fun way, and if they usually do it during weekdays, they tend to “forget” their chores on weekends and I might find their rooms chaotic again. The reason? Parents are often too overwhelmed by their work or simply abandoned the idea of giving their kids chores altogether. And who can blame them? It’s often a serious source of trouble and conflicts in families.
Indeed, parenting is no easy task and often, we don’t feel like nagging our kids to do their chores. But sparing our kids chores will not only spoil them but also affect them long term!
Why giving chores to kids?
Because it’s overly important for their development and their quest for autonomy!
Have you ever noticed how toddlers naturally want to do things by themselves? It’s the perfect time to help them take their place in the world and teach them essential skills to help them do things alone. It is no coincidence if Maria Montessori included the care of the environnement and the self in her set of tools to educate children both sensitively and kinesthetically. Activities like cooking, watering plants or buttoning up one’s shirt are paramount in her method. Well, good news, chores in general is part and parcel of that too!
But physical development aside, the impact on a child’s psychology is even greater. Researches show that the habit of doing chores in childhood is directly linked to our adult hability to be happy, healthy and independant. On top of that, the sooner the better! A study from the University of Minnesota have confirmed that responsibilities learned via household tasks is best when learned young.
So, generally speaking, it’s a healthy habit that will definitely help your kids becoming less stressed and well-adjusted adults.
Other positive effects of chores
- Develop motor skills
- Teach kids responsibilities and self-discipline
- Teach them setting up priorities
- Teach them teamwork. We all have chores to do!
- Teach them skills for life
- Teach them respect and appreciation
- The younger they start the better it is. They understand it is a part of life
- Can actually help family bonding!
How to get it done
We all know it can be very difficult to make a kid do what we tell him to do… I heard a lot of good reasons for not bothering with giving kids chores. Among those difficulties:
- Kids prefer to have a life without chores
- It’s a source of arguments because it’s often hard for kids to help out without moaning and complaining
- Children don’t commit long term
- It’s time consuming because parents need to teach and follow through
- Parents don’t want their kids to endure what they might have endured themselves
So how can you change that? Here’s a few tips to help you out!
It’s important to give the child a choice, as kids will then have a certain control over their environnement and feel like doing things more easily. Give them a selection of two or three chores they can do, or make a list with them.
You have to respect their skills and the time it will take them to do the chore. Respect their shortcomings! It’s a good time to teach.
Don’t rush them with your adult conception of time. If a chore needs to be done before you go somewhere, it’s your job to anticipate! Sometimes you can tell them that by helping with a chore, it will go faster and that way you will have more time to play afterwards.
Always follow-up! And remember, habits take time to settle, but once acquired, it’s a lifetime skill that can boost your kids’ life.
Create a special routine for everyday chores. Kids feel safe in routine tasks, use it at your advantage! You can use a clean-up song to create a habit while cleaning up their bedrooms for example, so everytime your kids hear the song, they will know it’s time for clean-up! Check out this one by ELF learning:
Happy cleaning-up everyone!
The perfect chores for kids
So how can I choose a chore my kids will do? By keeping these three essential things in mind: FUN, AGE-APPROPRIATE, and CHILD-SIZED.
Tips to make your kids chores easy
- Start at an early age. Even toddler can, and should, start helping.
- Keep age appropriate and child’s maturity in mind.
- The younger they are, the less time should be a chore.
- Sit down with your kids and make a list together. Ask them why this task is important to do.
- Once you have the right list for age appropriate, ask them to choose some and pick others for them. You can make it a fun game and put the list in a bucket. You as a parent can also play the game with them. Make it fun. For example, you do a chore and the child does one at the same time and the one who finishes it first can be the one picking up a game for after the chore is over.
- Show them how to do it, kids learn by watching. Explain about it along the way. Help them in the beginning.
To further help you out, you can divide chores into three categories : those they need to do everyday, those that are occasional and all the others you rotate monthly.
3 different types of chores
Everyday chores
Here is a list of every day life things your kids can easily do:
– Picking up dirty clothes and put them in the hamper. Remember: even toddler can do that when you do it with them.
– Putting the towel away after shower or bath. Note: when kids are too young to put it back on the rack, ask them to bring it back to you.
– Closing the lid and flushing the toilet after using it
– Picking up trash and putting it in the garbage
– Picking up toys. Younger kids can help you while doing it! Remember: teaching them early is only a help for them.
– Rinsing the toothbrush and putting it away
– Putting plate away
– Taking the lunch box out of the school backpack and bringing it to you or by the sink
– Turning off the lights when leaving a room with no one there
Casual chores
When you’re hosting a party or just having some family come over, little kids are usually eager for them to come. So you can ask them to help with little chores such as:
– Set up the table
– Make a vegetable plate
– Decorate the table
– Make place cards
– Create gift cards
Remember: any casual occasion is a good learning experience! Kids are part of the family and shouldn’t be left on the outside looking in! Keep them involved in all the aspects of your household according to their age.
Rotating chores
Keeping a chore for a month or even a year can be a good thing. It helps children master that chore and make it less complicated with arguments (I did it yesterday, it is your turn type of thing!). Here is a list of those chores, but they also can be chores that kids want to help with.
– Feeding the pets
– Vacuuming
– Emptying the dishwasher (although young kids love to help doing this!)
– Washing vegetables
– Putting groceries away
– Setting the table
– Getting the mail
– Putting the garbages away (older kids)
– Taking out clothes from drier
– Sorting laundry before folding
– Finding matching socks
– Watering flowers
– Washing the car
– Helping with gardening, raking the leaves
– Helping with passing stuff when you organize an area
So, why wait much longer? Get those kids to work! Everybody will benefit and you will set them up for a brighter and healthier future!
Blog With Gigi 
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