Keep your tot occupied with these age-appropriate “chores”
Letting your child help with household chores teaches your tot valuable life lessons and helps develop a sense of autonomy.
Even little children can help mom and dad with daily household chores. This stage-by-stage guide to chores for kids will help your little one develop into a happy little helper, but feel free to add in appropriate tasks as they come up in your household.
Ages two to four
This is the first and last time you’re likely to have to beg or demand that your child help you around the house. Your little one is bound to show enthusiasm for helping you with everyday tasks and will relish the time together and the sense of accomplishment he gets from it. But, patience on your part will be essential since tasks are likely to take longer and may even produce more mess than there was to begin with. Nadia Khan, a preschool teacher at FastTracKids preprimary in Johannesburg, explains that although this can be frustrating, “the child should never be criticised for not doing it right, or the way the parent would. This will just discourage him and prevent him from developing the skills to do the chore well later on.” She also explains that this is a way to develop self-motivation. “However, make sure that you show your child how to perform the task. You won’t have much luck simply telling your child to tidy his room – he needs to be shown how to categorise his toys into the different compartments.”
Age-appropriate chores
- Picking up toys
- Wiping tables
- Dusting
- Washing plastic plates and cutlery
- Feeding pets
- Baking (mixing)
- Watering plants
Top tip: Ensure that you praise and thank your child for the tasks he is completing and never tell him he didn’t do it “properly” or well enough.
Ages four to six
“At this stage, your child will be learning self-awareness and how to care for his own needs,” says Nadia. Your child will be developing a sense of responsibility, too, and he is likely to take his tasks seriously. “Your little one will still be unlikely to be doing his chores with precision, but if you support him and refrain from criticism, he will have mastered most of them in no time,” explains Nadia.
Age-appropriate chores
- Make their own bed
- Baking (measuring and mixing with parent)
- Hanging up their own towel
- Placing dirty laundry in the laundry basket
- Assisting parent in hanging up laundry
- Setting the table and helping to clear up after meals
- Helping to fold laundry (matching up socks can be a particularly fun game)
Top tip: Your child should feel challenged, but not overwhelmed, so work on finding tasks that aren’t too easy, but still challenge your child. For example, once he has mastered hanging up laundry, he could teach his sibling how to do it too.
Ages six and upwards
Nadia explains that if you have encouraged your child over the years, you may be surprised at how adept he is at certain tasks. However, you may notice some resistance to helping out around the house. While you may be tempted to offer carrot-and-stick rewards and consequences, these will only work for the short run. Soon the novelty of receiving a sticker for each task will wear off. “What you really want is to cultivate self-motivation,” explains Nadia.
Age-appropriate chores
- Getting dressed for school
- Packing lunch box
- Helping with meal preparation and serving under supervision
Top tip: Allow your child to choose a few tasks he actually enjoys doing. This could be using the spray bottle and squeegee to clean windows or helping to prepare family meals.
