The most important time to get children interested in chores and helping out is from the beginning. Our attitude as parents and caregivers will have a tremendous impact on how our children view chores and household tasks. We can start when our babies our months old and begin making messes. Instead of removing your baby from the scene of the mess and cleaning up when they are not around, explain to your baby that it is time to clean up. You can sing about it and act excited about picking up toys. To take this a step further, allow your baby to be successful with helping and then praise your child. All people like praise, especially young children. They aspire to be like you anyway. Give your baby a toy and help your baby successfully place it in the basket with the other toys and then praise your baby for being such a good helper. What child, when they receive praise like that, wouldn’t want some more? This is how parents can lay the foundation for good work ethics.
We should never think that work is too difficult for the children and exclude them from it. Find a small portion of the job and have your child help you. When we tell our children that they can’t help us, they begin to develop and attitude of laziness towards work. When they are finally able to help, they are no longer interested.
Here are some ideas of things you can have your baby or toddler do to contribute to the daily work of running a household.
Give them some laundry to carry to the washer, or dump the soap in the machine.
Allow them to carry small trash cans to empty the trash on garbage day.
Place the highchair or a stool by the sink and let them help you wash the dishes. Of course they are just playing with the water, but they are learning to work along side you and find that work is fun.
Teach them to use the vacuum hose and clean the corners when you are vacuuming.
Give them light bags to carry in from the grocery store.
Let them carry laundry to the proper places once it has been folded.
Let them clean the bottom of the window or mirror while you clean the top.
Teach them how to clean up their room.
Allow them to help you bake cookies, or cut lettuce with a plastic butter knife.
Most importantly, you must praise them to themselves and to others. Let your child over hear you bragging to a friend or relative about what a great helper you have. Really play it up about what a little man or little lady you have and how helpful they are. Kids just love this stuff and want to help more.
In the beginning, they will not really be a help, but you are teaching valuable life skills. With a little time and patience you really will have a great helper that loves to work without complaining. I know, I have 6 of them and I couldn’t live without them. They can clean up the kitchen, give the smaller children a bath, cook, mop, clean bathrooms, etc… There is not a job they can’t do and they usually do it willingly because they know how much we need and depend on them. People need to feel useful and have a purpose. What better way to start than to give them real responsibilities?
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I cut both ends off and my 3 and 4year olds had fun helping mom and peeling it!