Long-term life skills develop with chores. While the idea of getting your child started on doing chores may seem daunting, the benefits far outweigh the hassle and bother.

Chores are Family Contributions

Everyday tasks are necessary to for a well-maintained household. Regular cleaning, laundry, dish-washing, and trash removal are essential to a family’s proper functioning. Because a family is a team, these chores must be tackled as a cohesive unit. Everyone must pitch in to help the household function well. Chores should be proportionately assigned to all the developmentally-capable members of the family.

This means that children should have some responsibility for household tasks. Chores teach your children to take responsibility for their own benefit and for others. Keeping the household running smoothly by assigning tasks allow your children to be capable, contributing members of the household.

EXAMPLES OF Age-Appropriate Chores

Assign your child age-appropriate chores when he or she is a toddler. Encourage your toddler to help. For example, your toddler can be place her pajamas in the hamper and throw trash in the garbage can. She can pick up her toys and books. You can also encourage your toddler to put away her current toy before playing with another. It’s wise to keep toys in an assigned spot so she knows where to put them back. You can also limit the available toys so she is not overwhelmed with choices and more importantly, with cleanup. When there is less to clean, the job is much easier and much more appropriate for a young child.

Household chores can become more complex as children mature. Your preschooler put her used dish in the sink, dust baseboards, put away clean silverware, match socks and put away some groceries.  Older kids can clear the table after meals, fold laundry, sweep/vacuum, load the dishwasher, take out the trash, and wash a load of laundry. Keep in mind that these are just some ideas and they are not exhaustive.

Set Expectations and Place Responsibility

This study clearly states that children are aware that their parents need help. However, it seems that inconsistent and unclear expectations from parent dampen children’s participation in housework. As parents, you must set the expectation that every household member is going to contribute to help the family. This allows children to contribute to something bigger than themselves, take ownership and take responsibility for their own belongings and assigned tasks.

A good way to do this is to ask: “Do you have a plan for cleaning up your room?” Asking them about their plan for cleaning up their room puts the responsibility squarely on them instead of you.

Another way is to give children limited choices: “You can dust the baseboards or match socks?” This works best for younger children who need to be guided towards tasks.

And for more advanced contributors a quick, “How do you think you can help
out today?” may suffice.

Assigning contribution, giving responsibility, following through and encouraging their efforts no matter how small or unskilled all contribute to slow but meaningful change. Through chores, children are able to contribute, however small, to the family. And as their practical life skills develop with chores, with enough time and practice, they slowly come to the realization that are capable. While this seems small to you, it is huge for their self-esteem and feelings of self-worth.

Mid- and Long-Term Life Skills Develop With Chores

There are both mid- and long-term effects of requiring every family member to help with household tasks. On the short-term you may question why you decided to assign chores to your child. But once skilled in certain tasks, mid-term you can begin enjoying a tidier household with contributing members. Long-term, the effect is even more profound because those years of teaching your child to pitch in with household chores reap priceless mental and emotional rewards.

Children will develop the capability to take care of themselves, their belongings, and their surroundings. They will develop practical life skills to maintain functioning households. And they will learn to take responsibility for themselves, their belongings, and their surroundings.

While you might think that chores were a bad idea when you first start training them, remember that contribution helps children thrive. Take the long-view and think of the big picture. You are developing long-term life skills with chores. They are learning values such as independence, self-reliance, capability and the importance of maintaining their home. Skills and values they will surely need when they transition into adulthood and leave your household. Well-prepared for life indeed!

Take good, kind care of yourself and your family,