Inside: Chores for 2 and 4 yr old kids with chores templates; to help you solve the issue of – how to do chores with your toddler! Solution – Involve them, so they learn important life skills, feel the pride of contributing and learn age appropriate chores.
The one issue parents ask me the most is — how do I keep my child engaged when I catch up on chores, or when I have to do the cleaning.
And the only way people seem to use to keep their child engaged while they clean is — screen time.
While screen time is a solution, it’s most definitely not the one that brings in pride and satisfaction, neither to the parent nor the child. It’s more like a limbo state, to just pass time, while more important stuff is being taken care of.
But it doesn’t have to be so; your child has the capability to be a part of that important stuff too!
So this is the other solution — getting your child involved in the chores while you do them yourself, the primary benefit of involving your child in chores is that they understand the process a house is kept clean and organized.
I came to this conclusion of asking my kids to help do the chores because I could not engage my kids with screens because it did not go well with me and secondly because – they seemed to be pretending to clean around me when I did the work, which actually created more issues than cleaning.
Here’s the thing about pretend play, in a child’s mind it’s real life. So while they were pretending and trying to wipe and clean, they were actually doing a great job in their minds while in reality, it was in wrong places and with techniques.
So all I had to do was — give them a direction in how to clean!
I also must say — there is a learning curve for both parents and kids; when trying to get your children to help with chores.
Because they try to go ahead of you a lot, and you take the time to learn what they can and can’t do.
So initially it may seem like this is actually creating more work for you.
But as everyone gets comfortable with the expectations, boundaries, and routines; kids are actually a great help with the chores!
Here are 30 + Chores my Kids Help me With
These are the things I ask help for from my 2 yr old and 3.5 yr old, we started our chores routine 6 months ago so they were 18 months and 3 yrs respectively!
I didn’t introduce all of them together; all these chores are built
Chores we do almost every day:
- Wiping the table top and other surfaces after eating food or activity.
- Wiping the spills made by them. (During our learning curve my 18 mo old dumped water every time after drinking from her glass so that she got an opportunity to wipe it, sometimes this meant 10 times a day!) But we just stuck with our activity, and she calmed down.
- Putting their dishes and utensils on the kitchen counter after using them.
- Helping load and unload the dishwasher after dinner.
- While I cook, I constantly ask them to get food from the fridge and pantry.
- Fix easy snacks for themselves.
- Peel and Chop salad or veggies for dinner or snacks.
- Help set the table sometimes.
- Putting their books and toys back after reading. ( I always have to pitch in for this, they just don’t put their books and toys away on their own, but they help around the house so much that I don’t mind helping them).
- Operating the microwave to heat food.
- Getting water from water filter for everyone. (for my 3 yr old only).
- Feeding the dog in the evening.
- Get mail and put it up for sorting.
- Use hand vacuum to pick up crumbs or other spills.
- Turn the lights on/off after using a room. (3 yr old only).
- Warm up and have milk for themselves before going to bed.
Chores they help with 2-3 times a week –
- Help me clean the kitchen while I deep clean it. (We use essential-oil-based cleaner only, so kids are away from chemicals while cleaning)
- they spray and wipe surfaces at their height like fridge, cabinet doors
- wash and wipe gas stove accessories
- wipe the microwave inside and out
- wiping the dining table and chairs
- sometimes clean the countertop (usually I do it)
- help me rearrange the pantry
- help wipe the fridge (at their respective heights)
- Help clean the big dishes, if they were involved while cooking or baking.
- Wipe windows and doors at their height.
- Loading the washer and dryer with clothes.
- I know a lot of families who take help with clothes folding, but we don’t do that because my kids see endless open play opportunities with the loose clothes, and it ends up becoming a frustration trigger for me.
- Water our Indoor Plants. (We all have adopted a plant each, and we water our plants respectively).
- Playroom clean up also looks somewhat like kitchen clean up, I give them tasks and they do it; but the process is not as smooth as kitchen cleaning, because they end up playing too.
- Help put groceries away.
- Getting help with bathroom cleaning is also an option, we usually do our during their or my our bath, so they don’t help with that yet.
Self Care:
- Do their morning potty routine independently (3 yr old only).
- Put his clothes on in the morning before pre-school. (also for 3 yr old; needs help with t-shirt usually)
- Put their clothes in the dirty clothes hamper.
- Put their socks and shoes on. (2 yr old struggles, but likes to try)
- Put their Jackets and hats on.
- During Bath – put soap on their bodies and rinse.
- Wipe their bodies after, and put cream on.
Getting help is usually not a struggle if you introduce work to the slowly. Both of them help happily, probably because there is a sense of pride involved, and kids always want to do things that adults do.
I got to know how much my 18 months old daughter loves helping with chores, when Montessorisori teacher told me, she actually chooses to help the teacher with chores during circle time.
On the flip side getting my 3 yr old to do his self-care is a struggle for us, but I think it’s mostly because my little one does not do her self care activities and I do it for her, so my older one wants me to do it for him too. That is a constant struggle, but chores are never a struggle.
A huge bonus about getting help with chores is — it’s a perfect way to introduce and use their manners constantly without any reminders because you constantly keep saying please and thank you to them, they learn it very smoothly and naturally!
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