We don’t employ any helpers at home, so we do everything that needs to be done at home. In a way, this bodes well for my boys because I’m the kind of mother who believes that children should do their part in household chores from a young age.
It didn’t start that way, though. In the initial years with my firstborn, I was that over-protective mother who would do everything myself. You know how much work there seems to be at home that needs tending to. And, sooner or later when there are more kids around the house, there will only be more to do, never less. So it came to a point when the over-protectiveness began to slide and I started delegating household chores to my boys.
There was a study done on children exposed to doing household chores and this is what is said:
Those who had done chores as young children were more likely to be well-adjusted, have better relationships with friends and family and be more successful in their careers.
So, it is time, if you haven’t already done so, to set your children to work at home!
The Many Benefits Of Children Doing Chores At Home
Train and improve motor skills — when handling chores, whether it’s sweeping the floor, folding clothes, or wiping surfaces, children learn coordination skills with hands and legs movements.
Instil appreciation of others — when we have everything done for our children, they may end up taking many things for granted since they don’t know the effort and time that one has to put in to get everything in order.
Learn life skills — chores like doing laundry, folding clothes, cleaning up, cooking, organising things, etc., teach children some basic life skills. Expose them to appropriate chores to match their age so that they are able to start with the basics and progress to bigger chores as they grow.
Instil a sense of self-reliance and responsibility — enabling them to do things for themselves lets them grow their capabilities and they can take pride in being self-reliant. Besides, being able to contribute towards work around the house may leave them feeling good about themselves too. Help them build up a sense of responsibility from a young age.
Learn team work — when we make clear to them on how we split work amongst everyone at home, the child learns about working together as a team. This too, is beneficial to start off when they are young.
Create bond and togetherness — make it a point to work on chores together so that we can spend time as a family to bond while we work. That’s killing many birds with one stone; getting the chores done, each doing their part, and bonding time all at once!
Initial Chores That I Started My Children On
I started with passing the broom and sweeping pan to my boys when they were toddlers around the age of three to four. It was more of play for them rather than doing actual cleaning work. It started off as practise and they thought it was a fun thing to do.
Over time when they got better and can sweep for real, it became a part of the things they do to help out at home. From sweeping, they also progressed to vacuuming the floor.
Another easy chore that I made them do was to put the laundry to wash. I taught them how to load the machine, and amount of detergent to use and how to operate the machine.
More Chores That They Can Handle
By now, both my boys do the full works of laundering from washing to hanging out to dry, collecting in the clothes, folding and putting them all back in their wardrobe.
Folding was the trickiest for them. I had to bear with lousy folding for several months until they got better over time. But it pays to be patient and let them have enough practise.
After meals, my boys also help with the washing, drying and putting back all the dishes and utensils. They clear and wipe the dining table and restore order to everything. At the end of the day, they also help with taking out the garbage to be thrown outside.
They also do light dusting and cleaning of surfaces around the house. If your child is like mine with sensitive noses, then you may want to take some precaution when assigning jobs that involves dust. I keep this to a minimum for them.
We have pets at home, so I also make them do the necessary like cleaning up after the pets, do some basic grooming and feeding.
You see, having children do chores also has great benefits for us parents; it lightens our loads a lot! And I truly appreciate that because it saves me so much time when everyone chips in. I also enjoy our chore time together. My boys tend to chit chat a lot when we are doing the dishes together.
Get Your Child Started And Watch Them Grow Independent
If you’re still mulling on this, just take a small step forward. Start them with small and easy jobs. Set them up for little successes by assigning them age-appropriate chores. You can also design some fun chores for them to start with to inculcate the habit of wanting to help out at home, on their own accord.
One last mention about including children in chores. I do not give my kids money for doing chores. To me, doing household chores is part of helping out in the family. It is not to be rewarded with money. I made a mistake earlier on by giving my then toddler a coin for doing something. One time when I asked him for a favour to fetch me something from the room, he asked how much he would earn for that. It was my doing to put that perception in his mind, so I had to un-do it as quickly as it came about.
That’s something for you to think about. Happy implementing fun chores for your little ones!