If you’re not sold on family chores or just want a good book on the subject, check out my review of Susan Tordella’s Raising Able.
As promised in last week’s post, here is my daughter’s chore list. Some of these are legitimate chores that we plan to keep up, while others are just little things that we do for kicks. Make sure to throw in your child’s age and chores in the Comments section.
So what chores can a 17-month old do? So glad you asked.
1. Load clothes into the washing machine. My daughter started helping me with laundry a few months ago. At first it was frustrating because she would grab things from the basket and run off. We stuck with it, and now she can load the washing machine and dryer with supervision, encouragement, and an occasional “don’t rub the floor with your blue jeans.”
2. Clean her tray after meals. She is such a picky eater. Sometimes I feel like one of those chefs at Benihana, slicing and dicing before her very eyes in hopes that she will eat. Her tray ends up a disaster and so does the floor. At the end of the meal, I hold out my hand and say “clean up.” She places almost every remnant of food in my hand.
3. Put up toys after play time. My daughter was so good at putting up her blocks when she was 11 months old. Now she is more mobile and less willing to cooperate. On occasion she surprises me and puts away most of her 80-piece block set. It inspires me to keep at it even when I’d rather just do it myself and get everyone to bed.
4. Take out the trash. Okay, my toddler doesn’t actually take the garbage can to the curb. I do ask that if she sees any little bits on the floor she either throw it away or hand it to me. This way we are keeping things tidy and there’s less random crap going in her mouth. She does this well. Sometimes a little too well. If a receipt or small piece of mail falls on the floor, it may end up in the trash.
5. Carry Mommy’s lunch bag to the car. It’s simple. I carry a lot of stuff in the morning. My daughter helps me out by carrying my lunch bag to the car.
6. Place Mommy’s earrings in the drawer. This started because of my daughter’s fascination with jewelry and all things shiny. In the evenings, I would get her out of the carseat and she would immediately yank out my earrings. Ouch! These days, I hand her the earrings, escort her to the top dresser drawer, and let her toss them in. She gets to hold onto something sparkly and my earlobes have never felt better.
Call me crazy, but I think my daughter sticks her chest out a little bit when she clears her tray or makes it to the car without dropping my lunch bag. It won’t be long before she can run the joint while I kick up my heels and read more books. Maybe not.
How old are your kids? Do they do chores around the house? How’s it going?
Check out these chore suggestions by age group.
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Wow a 17-month old willingly do all that chores? I’m impressed! My 9-year old son does his chores at home too but I just assign a few for him to do.
By the way, I’m here to “Make Your Morning”. Have a great day!
@GecaFranco
Thanks for stopping by. I‘ve heard that as kids get older, it takes more “encouragement” to get them to do chores. Time will tell.
This is a great post! I did a short 3 part series about this on my blog Happy Moms, Happy Homes. I’ve added a quote from my post along with the link below:
“If we do everything for them, they will not be empowered to live a healthy life.” http://happymomshappyhomes.blogspot.com/2012/02/finding-balance-part-2-of-3.html
@Christina Morley
Thanks Christina. That sounds like a great series. I couldn’t agree with your quote more.
What a great post!!!
I’m here to “Make Your Morning”….well or afternoon as the case may be. LOL
Tiffany
http://thecraftyhome.net
@Tiffany1
Thanks for stopping by Tiffany.
Great post! I definitely have my kids help me out with chores from the time they are old enough to walk. They may be little chores and not even really helpful at first, but they are learning! Thanks for posting what your little one does. Gives me more ideas!
Melissa
http://www.home4moms.com
@bmja04
Thanks Melissa.
My 2 year old helps clean up toys, puts tissues in the trash. and “washes” dishes (aka splashes around in the sink while I’m washing dishes). One of her favorite things to do is “scrub” the tub – I hand her a sponge during bathtime, and she very earnestly rubs all around the sides and bottom. I’m not sure that it’s actually cleaning anything, but I figure it can’t hurt…
@quirkybookworm
Thanks Jessica. I love that your daughter really gets into scrubbing the tub. It’s so cute when they have that look of concentration.