This Is How Children Can Help Around The House – At Any Age!
Home is the first circle a child belongs to. This makes it a well-suited environment for introducing children to social norms and values. You can ensure that your children help with the household and thus lay the foundations for healthy habits and skills with them from an early age.
Give children responsibilities
You can give your child small duties based on their age. You should make it clear that these tasks really need to be done.
It is always good to motivate your child a little and explain why they should help with the household. This also emphasizes the importance of the task and its contribution. So it will accept the task.
This will have many positive effects. It will boost children’s self-esteem and show them that they are an important part of the family and that they are needed.
At the same time, they will learn to appreciate the work. You will see that the housekeeping does not take care of itself, but that it is a strenuous job.
They also become so familiar with working together. Each member of the family has a job and together you are a team. Your work together ensures that your home is clean, tidy and comfortable.
You should consider the following when your children help with the household:
- You should always keep your child’s abilities and age in mind when deciding what to do. You can only hold children accountable for tasks they can really do. The basic idea is that a completed task should give your child a feeling of encouragement and achievement. In addition, the focus is on working together. When a very young child is given a task that they cannot do they will become frustrated, lose confidence, and will not want to continue.
- And first of all: Introducing your child to household chores requires patience. If something does not work right away because it was not paying attention or has the necessary skills, then you should not criticize it or even scold it right away. You should encourage your child and demonstrate how to do it. You should say, “Look, it’s better this way” and do it right away. In this way you enable your child to develop and learn.
Which tasks at which age?
It is important that you think in advance which tasks are suitable and feasible for your child. Each task requires different skills and as your child gets older, they can do different things. In principle, all children can help in the household – regardless of age.
Here we have a little guide with age-appropriate tasks:
2 to 3 year olds can …
- Tidy up your toys. The same goes for children’s books.
- Eat alone. You can choose cutlery that does not pose a risk of injury. It’s best to start with a plastic spoon and then slowly insert a fork. Even though the food and drinks will end up everywhere at first, it is important that you be patient. Children first have to learn how to eat properly and that takes time.
- Your child can also pick up their clothes from the floor and bring them to the closet or toss them in the laundry basket.
- What they also enjoy at this age is watering flowers. This is a very good job for 2 to 3 year olds.
- You can also pick up rubbish, for example paper or cardboard, and throw it away.
4 to 5 year olds can …
- Take care of your own personal hygiene. You can wash with a sponge (under the supervision of mom or dad), choose your clothes and get dressed yourself.
- Go to the bathroom alone. Surely your children will be out of the diaper at this age and that will encourage them to go to the bathroom on their own.
- Lay the table. This is a good opportunity to let children help with the household on the one hand and teach them useful things on the other. This is how they learn where each part belongs.
- Feed the front door.
- Help with washing up or dry off.
6 to 9 year olds can …
- Bathe independently. Now you no longer need a parent to be with you when you want to take a bath.
- Make your bed. Children can also keep their desks clean and tidy and pack their school bags.
- Vacuuming and dusting too.
- Prepare a simple meal, such as a sandwich.
10 to 12 year olds can …
- Clean your room and other rooms in the house.
- Go for a walk with pets.
- Hang up the laundry.
- To pick up the phone.
Children over the age of 12 can do the following …
- Ironing the laundry.
- Sew on buttons.
- Take care of the garden.
- Take care of your siblings.
- Go shopping and run errands.
If children help in the household, it should not be a punishment!
It is important that you avoid children associating household chores with punishment. Phrases like “If you don’t do what you’re told, you’ll be mopping the dining room floor all week” should be avoided.
Instead, show your child that their contribution to the household is important and necessary. The idea that children help in the household should also lead to strengthening the community in the family and thus promote cooperation at home.
