You don’t want to overload your child with household chores that aren’t age-appropriate, but you do want to make sure that they learn to be independent and responsible. So what can you do? Where can you turn for a list of age-appropriate household chores for kids? Well, right here!
We here at Merlz and Pearlz have curated a list of the seven best (and most fun!) household chores for your little one! Make sure your child learns how to help out around the house with these age-appropriate—wait. These are supposed to be fun, but chores sound boring. Let’s call them “helping activities.” That’s what Merlz and Pearlz call them!
Read on and learn how you can use the power of helping to build self-esteem in your child!
Helping activity 1: Folding clothes
Chores for children need to be safe, easy, and, of course, fun! Few things fit the bill quite like folding clothes. From hamper to basket, every part of doing laundry is simple to learn. With the folding finale, you can even play around with the process. The key to making any home duty a fun time is to make it a game, after all!
Turn folding into a game of memory, and have your little one match pairs of socks together. Enjoy a guessing game as they learn which shirts and pants belong to which person in the house. Get creative, and teach your child the many different types of tucks and folds! No matter how you approach it, folding can quickly become a favorite helping activity for you and yours.
Helping activity 2: Dusting and wiping, wiping and dusting!
Merlz and Pearlz love to sing, and if there’s one thing that goes perfectly with any song, it’s a fun dance! Of all the helping activities on this list, wiping surfaces down is the best one to do while dancing. Create your own house task tango as you and your child develop a dusting rhythm. Wiping down and dusting surfaces teaches cleanliness, and helps build good house habits in your little one. Plus, digging through shelves, trying to get every last nook and cranny, can lead to all sorts of interesting finds! You might stumble across a long lost toy, a baby picture or two, or even some loose change! Dusting can make any and every part of the house an adventure sandbox to explore!
Helping activity 3: Washing dishes
Soapy shenanigans do a happy camper make! If there’s one thing children love to do, it’s splash around in water. While we don’t recommend actually splashing at home (Pearlz is still cleaning the ship after the last set of dishes), you can get close with washing the dishes.
What’s more, dishes can be fun and educational! Seeing grease and grime up close can teach your little one the value of keeping things nice and clean. Taking in the sight of a shiny, freshly scrubbed dish rack afterwards can instill a sense of pride and accomplishment. Whichever stage of washing the dishes you involve your child in, there’s something to learn (and suds to splash!).
Helping activity 4: Organizing cupboards
We all love doing a puzzle every now and then. Figuring out which piece goes where; the satisfaction of fitting two pieces perfectly together; the joy of seeing the final picture before you. There’s a lot that goes into puzzling, so why not bring that same fun to your cupboards? Putting mugs and plates into their proper place can be more than a monotonous chore. Match existing sets of cutlery and dinnerware, or create a whole new image by mixing it up! Allow your child’s creativity to roam free, and show them the fun of organization.
Just be careful not to stack the plates too high. We want a fun arrangement, not a ladder all the way to Planet Awesome!
Helping activity 5: Making the bed
Sleep is important. Bedtime, then, should be one of the most comfortable times of day! Make it so by having your child make their bed alongside you. It’s quick, easy, and can be done first thing in the morning. Making the bed teaches your little one to be respectful of their surroundings—a key trait in any good Self-Esteem Warrior!
They can also learn organization, putting their stuffed toys and blankets exactly as they like. Plus, fluffing pillows and flapping sheets is always a fun time. Teach them to make the bed, and let your little one pour that early morning energy into something neat (in both senses of the word)!
Helping activity 6: Setting and clearing the table
We all love to eat, but we don’t always pay the most attention to the parts that come right before and after. That shouldn’t be the case! After all, the sooner we set the table, the sooner we get to eat! Letting your child handle this short helping task is a great way to make them feel involved in dinner.
The best part? That involvement doesn’t end there! Clearing the table after eating a meal is a great way to keep your little one engaged, and a fun use of that post-dinner energy. Kids are the perfect height for stacking the dishwasher, which is like a 3-D puzzle for them to play with. Turn it into a game and they’ll learn valuable skills as they help out!
Helping activity 7: Watering plants
Like children, houseplants need love, food, warmth, and attention. They also start growing at alarming rates after getting all that for a while. With such striking similarities, then, houseplants are the perfect partner for your budding Self-Esteem Warrior!
As your child starts watering plants around the house, they will pick up the arts of moderation and consistency. What’s more, watering can easily lead to other aspects of plant care, like placement and providing other nutrients. All of these helping activities help develop a firm sense of responsibility, which can feed directly into your child’s self-esteem! Also, you can combine this one with dusting and wiping (hint: do the plant care first)!
Chores, helping activities—whatever you call them, there’s so much more to them than meets the eye. Helping around the house can be both fun and formative. Your child can build all sorts of new habits! Enjoying chores and learning new skills from them can make your little one feel intelligent and useful, further building their self-esteem.
To keep things really fun, it always helps to have something playing in the background. You could go with music, or even a video. With Merlz and Pearlz, you don’t need to choose—we’ve got both! Take a look at our YouTube channel, and find just the right soundtrack for your little house helper. Nurture your child’s confidence, and start some Helping Activities with them today!
Comments