How To Get Your Kids To Help At Home?
Do little kids help at home? I believe the answer should be Yes.
Any kid can help out at home. It doesn’t matter how old they are or how coordinated. From preschoolers to teenagers there are tasks for everyone and every age.
By letting your kids help at home, you will not only teach them great skills that will help them when they’re all grown up. But you’ll also instill great values in your children while setting an example. Chores get a bad rap I know. Honestly, you can take a time-consuming task that you would have to do as a parent and transform it into shared family time.
There are so many benefits to getting your kids to help out at home including:
- You will be spending more time with your kids.
- When you have time for yourself (such as when kids are sleeping), you will be able to finish other tasks or enjoy your free time.
- When kids are helping out at home they understand the concept of cleaning. Later they will be less likely to make a mess or leave a room unclean.
- Teaching your LO values of hard work by setting an example for them.
- You set an expectation for ground rules. Kids are expected to help at home, as well as being responsible for the cleaning of their room and space. If you wait until your kid is a teenager and then ask him to help for the first time, this request will be strange to him. Especially if your kids got used to the fact that everyone would clean up after him. If you don’t instill these values in your LO early, they won’t think that it’s something they need to be worried about.
How I got my kid to help at home?
Since my LO turned two years old, I’ve been trying to get her involved in the household chores. That’ includes tidying, cooking, and cleaning tasks. By getting involved, I mean helping us parents while we are working around the home. I’m not advocating letting your Little One clean alone or cook dinner without supervision.
In the beginning, I was setting an example without paying any attention. I don’t have a cleaning service, so when I clean during the evenings and weekends, my LO is always hanging around and watching me.
Slowly, I started to notice that she was copying what I did. When I was mopping the floor, she was taking out her little pretend mop and moving it around. When I was cooking, she was standing on the chair next to me and asking me lots of questions about the things that I was doing.
Now, she helps me out and does everything with me. I have to admit that I would finish everything faster without her help, but working together makes it more fun, and when I have free time, I can work on something else or relax.
The great thing about getting your kids to help at home is that once they are aware of the cleaning and tidying up processes, they are more likely to help keep your home clean.
For example, when my LO spills something on the floor, she takes a paper towel and cleans it up by herself. How great is that, right?
How to get your kids to help at home?
- Every time you begin to clean explain what you are doing and what will be the outcome of the chore. “I’m folding the clothes so that we can put them back in the closet.” “I’m mopping so we can sit on a clean floor and play.” “I’m doing the laundry so you will be able to wear your favourite shirt again.”
- Instead of buying your kids “pretend” cleaning and cooking toys. You can let your kids play with real small cleaning supplies. Make sure that these supplies are clean and safe. Do not give your Little One anything with chemicals in it.
- Give your LO safe little tasks like cleaning something with a wet towel or drying wet dishes with a towel or things like that.
- Introduce the house chores as a family task by always using the word “we” and explaining the outcome of the task. Instead of saying“clean your room” or “mommy needs to clean the floor” use “we need to clean the floor so we can have a nice clean area to play in”. It will be even better if you all sit and play together once you’re done your cleaning. Doing so will help to solidify the benefits of cleaning in your LO’s mind and demonstrate a positive outcome to cleaning for them.
- Instead of a generic task like “let’s organize the room” provide a specific task such as “we need to put all the shoes in the closet.”
- Invent new games for your household chores. You can set a timer for cleaning up toys. Makeup stories about the dirt that needs to be cleaned off the floor. Take the time to make chores fun.
Here are some ideas for games that will encourage your child to help at home:
- Tidying up all their toys in the fastest way.
- Dividing the laundry into different colours.
- Finding the matching socks while folding laundry
- Following all the steps in a recipe while cooking.
- Folding the clean laundry and guessing who owned each item.
- Organizing the books on the shelves alphabetically or book size.
- Separating items that go in the recycle bin (this is also a great opportunity to learn all about recycling)
- Organizing all toys by category
As your kids are getting older, they can help with other tasks that are more appropriate for their age.
Safety first:
Don’t let your child come in contact with dangerous cleaning products. Make sure they’re always locked up and secure. Use eco-friendly products or just water and dish soap when kids are around.
These are all the suggestions I have for today about getting your children to do chores.
I would love to hear your thoughts. You can comment below or send me a direct message here.
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