I have so many friends who wonder how I get my kids to do chores at ages 5 and 7. It's easy - well some of the time. The key is to start as early as possible!
As soon as your toddler learns to walk, they can start to help clean up. Have them pick things up off the floor and bring it to you or show them where the items belong. Teach your kids to pick up their messes when they are finished playing, or have a set clean up time during the day. Gradually, make the chores more difficult, or complicated. Transition your toddler from cleaning up with assistance, to picking up small groups alone. I used to tell my daughter to just pick up the dirty clothes and tell me when she was finished. Then, we would move onto the next group (baby dolls, ponies, trash, etc) until the whole room was finished. By the time they are 2 or 3, the child should be able to pick up most of their room on their own.
Make clean up fun. Little kids love to help. Give them a rag and have them wipe the table or kitchen sink. Let them put away the clean dishes that they can reach. Gradually work them up by adding a little at a time. Eventually, they will be doing those dishes and wiping off that table all by themselves!
Be prepared to modify your cleaning routines to fit them. For the older kids, instead of carrying around a big bucket and rag mop, get a spray bottle filled with your favorite cleaner (we use Pine Sol), and teach the kids to spray the floor and mop with a pre-dampened mop. My kids have a really hard time with a broom. We have purchased a Shark vaccuum/steam mop. This way, they can vaccuum the hard floors and mop them. I go through with the broom every couple of days to make sure we get anything they missed.
Provide incentives. We have used multiple systems over the years, from pom-pom jars to sticker charts to smart phone apps. Whatever motivates your kids is worth it. Whatever you decide works for your family is great (even a Friday night movie night, or something simple).
Anyone have other suggestions?
Love this and you are so right. My problem is that as my oldest kids got older the yongest was getting away with not helping because the older ones always did it for them! So make sure, Parents, that you teach ALL the kids these important steps, even the youngest one. It is a valuable lesson that once mastered can create a very organized, responsible adult.
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