When my husband was in college, several of his fellow students brought his dirty clothes home and Mom would come once a month to clean his room. This was not because they were lazy, but they simply did not know how to do laundry or clean the house!
Don’t let your children become like those students … Aside from the fact that teaching your children around the house and other tasks prepares them for life on their own, they are also tasks that you don’t need to do! I know, I know, it takes time to teach them how to do it, and there will be plenty of times when you will have to finish the job behind them, but once they know, you will never have to do it again until they leave … AND Until they reach eight at least, they will be proud to be entrusted with “great people” tasks.
So what tasks can you safely delegate to your kids? It depends on their age, but there are things they can do from the age of 2. Below is a list of tasks by age group:
Young children: They can dust with an electromagnetic cloth or a baby wipe; Spray and scrub the sink and tub with water and a sponge; Pick up toys or other clutter from the floor and place them in baskets or buckets; If the baskets are labeled with pictures, they can even put the right toys in the right container! At this point, whatever you give them to do except put away the toys will be more to give them something to do while you clean, but they will try their best if you take the time to teach them, and it will seem natural to them when they graduate to. more complex tasks.
Preschoolers: sweep with a child-sized broom; spray and clean the windows with lemon water or vinegar (only inside the windows, please!); use a handheld vacuum cleaner; clean sinks with baby wipes; empty a small trash basket into a larger bag; scrub the corners of kitchen chairs or other small spaces with a clean toothbrush or nail brush and a cup of water; make the beds (preferably with a duvet, it is easier for them); fold towels; put clothes in drawers; hang clothes on hooks; put dirty clothes in a basket; help feed the animals; wipe baseboards, window sills with a small cloth or old socks on your hands; help clean up spills; unbreakable dry dishes; pick up trash in the yard.
Kindergarten children: sweep small areas with dustpan and broom; clean bathroom sinks; hang up the towel after bathing; store bath toys; help in the kitchen (stirring, cutting lettuce, etc. – still no knife!); put the napkins and cutlery on the table; clean the dishes on the table (it depends on your child, you know if you risk breaking them or not); help load the dishwasher; straighten plastic dishes in a cabinet; help straighten pots and pans; sort the clean clothes of family members; dusty furniture; remove bedding from beds; straighten books on a shelf; place the game and puzzle pieces in the correct storage containers; use a lint remover to collect pet hair on furniture; tidy up your room.
Younger elementary school children: Make the beds (any of them); Take out the trash; sweep stairs and walks; clean the car and help wash it; vacuum your own room; sort and straighten toys; fold and store dirty laundry; empty the dishwasher; feed and care for pets; set and clean the table (but only with unbreakable plates and cups at this point); Sort the laundry.
Older Elementary School Children: Clean Bathroom Mirrors; Vacuum cleaner; clean bathrooms; clean countertops and kitchen sink; mop floors in small areas; use the washer and dryer; wash, dry and store dishes; clean pet areas; clean cobwebs and dust in high places with a stick; sweep the garage; set and clean the table (by the end of elementary school, you can usually do this with regular plates and glasses).
Teens: They can do everything they do except the most intensive jobs or those that use harmful products, such as deep cleaning the oven or removing mold from bathroom tiles.
So when will you sit down and create a chore chart for your kids? What tasks will you assign to each one, depending on their ages? What will you do with the time you are saving in this way?
