It’s time to pull out the chore wheel and see who’s responsible for what for this week’s household tasks! Yet, are your kids at a good age to start doing chores? And if so, what sorts of tasks can you expect them to understand and manage themselves? These are all important questions that can be answered by PALS Praise & Leadership Schools!
Giving your kids a little more responsibility at home can make them well-rounded individuals and help them learn about organization, cleanliness, and more. All it takes is a little motivation to assign tasks and responsibilities. Let PALS explain why giving your kids things to be responsible for helps with their development and what you can reasonably expect them to handle at certain ages.
The Importance of Chores
As much as your children might groan, grumble and complain, they’ll thank you later in life for making them do chores! You might not believe this now, but it’s true. Chores instill a sense of responsibility and confidence in kids that they don’t realize until they apply these new traits in everything they do. Better yet, chores help teach your kids how to care for themselves, which becomes crucial to understand as they grow older. Here are some other ways simple, sensible chores prove beneficial for your kids and household:
Sensible Chores for Your Child
- Developing Essential Life Skills – By engaging in specific chores, your children can learn new skills they can continue to apply throughout their lives. Something as simple as preparing lunch teaches kids how to put together a healthy meal. Or, putting away laundry helps your children understand the need for self-care and cleanliness. These examples are only the tip of the iceberg for life skills that can be developed while doing simple tasks around the house.
- Building Work Ethic – If your child has a strong work ethic, they will go far in their educational and professional careers. By regularly participating in chores around the house and being rewarded, your kids understand the value of hard work and perseverance and what it can lead to. Furthermore, chores instill a sense of discipline, as your children understand the consequences when work isn’t completed or done correctly.
- Improving Time Management – As your kids take on more responsibilities at home, they must learn how to manage their time correctly. Balancing work and play can seem like an “impossible” challenges a child (Work? Yuck!), but it’s an ability learned by prioritizing tasks and completing chores on a timeline. When your kids grow older and become in charge of their own schedules, they’ll be grateful for their learned time management capabilities.
- Promoting Teamwork – Not all chores have to be done alone! In fact, one major benefit of chores with your kids is the sense of teamwork it can encourage. Because everyone is accountable for each other, there’s an incentive for kids to perform their best. By better understanding the importance of teamwork and collaboration, your children can recognize the advantages of working together to maintain a pleasant and comfortable home environment.
What’s the Best Age for Starting Chores?
While there are certain limits to your children’s capabilities at the earliest ages, it’s best to start teaching them about responsibility while they are young. That means finding the right types of chores they can reasonably assist with. You can start your kids off doing simple tasks, such as putting away toys or dirty clothes. Eventually, those simple tasks can turn into more complex ones, like helping with cleaning around the house. Here are some examples of the types of chores kids can best grasp at specific age ranges:
You need to find the types of chores that are safe and easy for your children to do but still instill a sense of accomplishment when completed. Start off small by having your kids assist with:
- Wiping Down Surfaces – Whether wiping down the dinner table, countertops after cooking, or even their toys, toddlers can start learning this basic task for cleanliness.
- Putting Away Toys – After playtime, your toddler can assist in putting away their toys with just a little bit of guidance and encouragement from you.
- Putting Laundry in the Basket – Even at a young age, toddlers can be taught to put dirty clothes in the laundry basket. This simple task teaches responsibility and organization.
Again, simplicity of the chores you give your children is vital in these first few years. You want kids to understand the tasks they’re doing but not become so confused or frustrated that they give up. Some responsibilities that achieve this goal include:
- Feeding a Pet – If you own a cat, dog, fish, hamster, or any pet, having your preschooler assist in feeding and providing them water teaches compassion and responsibility for the well-being of others.
- Setting the Table – With some gentle guidance, your child can help set up the table for meals. Preparing the table teaches basic organization and involves the whole family in mealtime.
- Watering House Plants – Try giving your child a small watering can and showing them which house plants need watering. Your kids can feel like they’re doing their part to care for their home.
- Helping Pack Lunches – Even if they aren’t in school yet, your kids can assist with simple lunchtime prep, like putting a sandwich in a bag or filling up a water bottle or canteen. This teaches independence and self-care.
For Pre-Kindergarten (4-5yrs)
Now, your children are getting to the age where they can do some chores without direct supervision, helping build their confidence and self-esteem. Additionally, as your kids’ fine and gross motor skills have begun developing, they’re able to better help with:
- Making their Bed – When waking up, kids can begin their day by making their bed instead of leaving it out of sorts. It’s a simple task that starts the day on the right foot.
- Putting Away Dishes and Silverware – As long as drawers and cupboards are easily accessible, your children can assist with putting dishes and silverware away.
- Folding Clean Laundry – Moving on from putting dirty laundry away, your children can now assist with folding and organization of clean clothes and towels.
Start Your Chore Wheel!
Of course, these are only a few examples of the chores you can do with your children as they begin being able to help. Discuss with your kids what they find the most interesting about the work you do around the home, and see what they might find fun and fulfilling to partake in. And for further help teaching and caring for your children, you can trust PALS Praise & Leadership Schools. We are Peoria’s best preschool and child care center, helping your kids develop essential skills, instilling positive habits, and achieving lifelong success. To learn more about PALS or to tour our campuses, call 309-674-2938 (Downtown Peoria) or 309-691-4326 (North Peoria).
