10 Chores Your Toddler Can Help With:
1—Feeding or giving water to the family pet: Our dog gets 1 1/2 cups of food per day and the scoop that we keep in the feed bin is that size. So it would be really easy to explain to Ethan that Baxter gets 1 scoop of food. We haven’t tried this yet—but we will soon. I still have a feeling Ethan would be tempted to “play” in the food and it would end up all over the place!
2—Watering plants and flowers: Fill up the watering can for your toddler and let them go! It might be in you and your plant’s best interest to use a small, toddler-sized, watering can.
3—Laundry! Start off with something simple like folding wash cloths or matching colored socks. Let your toddler sit next to you while you fold the laundry and create a little pile just for them to fold.
4—Putting dirty laundry in the hamper: Just keep in mind that toddlers cannot tell the difference between clean and dirty laundry! So be patient!
5—Throwing away trash: Since Ethan has been able to walk, he has thrown his own diapers away after being changed. Now he loves being my “helper” and he’ll drop what he’s doing to throw something away. It’s actually quite adorable!
6—Picking up his own toys: I have a hard time with this one because I am so much faster at it than him! haha, but if he is playing with toys at the kitchen table, I will have him clear them off when we’re getting ready for dinner.
7—Dusting: I’ve never done this, but you could put a sock on his hand and show him what to do. If you use all-natural cleaning products, you could even spray some cleaner on the sock so he can really get the job done!
8—Carry in and put away groceries: Let him carry in the lighter grocery bags and put away the groceries in the pantry or lower cabinets.
9—Turning off the lights: As you carry your baby from room to room, have him flip the switch for you. Teach them early on to save electricity!
10—Sweeping: Give him a little dust pan and broom and let them go wild on your kitchen floor. There is no way they can mess this up so show them how to do it once and then back off! This is Ethan’s favorite because he really feels like he’s helping.
Ethan—helping me let the dog outside!
And on a final note…
- *Take advantage of your toddler’s enthusiasm
- *Do not expect your toddler to remember to do the chores—give gentle reminders.
- *Do not nag, over-correct or use belittling tones.
- *Use a fun chore chart with stickers!
- *Supervise, not hover!
- *Assign chores that are uncomplicated and do not require a long attention span.
- *Turn the chores into a fun game or friendly competition.
Sites with some good advice for giving chores to your toddler:
- Turning Chores into a Game
- Toddler-Friendly Chores
- More Examples of Chores Toddlers Can Do
- Post @ ChicMummy about Toddler Chores
- A very extensive list @ Positive Parenting
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Check out other great top 10 lists @ OhAmanda for Top 10 Tuesday!
Also—Linked to “Works For Me Wednesday” @ We Are That Family
Twitter: selfsagacity
Pretty good list there! I think I will print it out and see if I can get Miss Trinity to help out.
Twitter: LittleBitJen
Great list! My son loves to help, especially with #1 and #3. Not so much with putting the toys away, though…
Great list! My boys do all of the things on your list too when they were little. Now they’re 6 and 8 and think nothing of taking care of their laundry (putting it in the laundry room, folding it and putting it away) and helping me with the towels, etc. They also unload the dishwasher and put away the dishes. I started them on this when they were little too with just taking out their own sippy cups, bowls, etc. Doing this gives them such a sense of acomplishment and being an integral part of the family. Great post!
Great list! My kids’ favorite is getting to use wipes to clean. They LOVE to bring me a dirty wipe and get praise (or even an M&M or something.) Very fun!
Happy Top Ten Tuesday!
My daughter loves wiping up tables and countertops–just give her a rag or a sponge and she is all over it! She’s surprisingly thorough, too!
Twitter: jennifervdavis
Isn’t that why we had kids–to do our chores?
In all seriousness, my little ones do the chores you have listed. Laundry would never get put away if I didn’t enlist their help!
Twitter: ajpassey
Yeah, I feel like a great mom because the girls already do tons of these things. I’m not so pathetic after all
Ooh, and like Vanessa said, my girls loves wiping off tables, counters, and stove tops.
Amber @ Because Babies Grow Up´s last blog ..Top 10 Signs Your Little One Thinks YOU Are Special
I need to do a better job of letting my daughter help with chores. She’s been really motivated by a sticker chart for potty training, so a sticker chart for chores would probably work well!
Twitter: iDreamofClean
These are great ideas! The resource list is fantastic too!
Christine (iDreamofClean)´s last blog ..Happy Mother’s Day (a week early)!
[...] ::Chores For Your Toddler…Because we all need a little help around the house! [...]
I came over from IDreamOfClean and this is a great post! I actually just blogged something simliar to this on my blog last week! Anyways, you have some great ideas here…I can always use good cleaning ideas for my littles!
They LOVE to help!!!