Simple chores for kids can transform your family life. Fortunately chores come in all shapes and sizes. From pairing and folding socks to washing the car, there are a wide variety of chores that regularly need doing throughout the home. So there will always be some simple chore that you can teach your child to do. To find our more, read our 5 Ways that simple chores for kids make a big difference.
Read our easy chores for kids story here.
Why Simple Chores for Kids are Important for the Whole Family
1. Chores Teach Life Skills
The first and most important life skill that doing chores will teach your child is that chores will always need doing. Because I hate to be the one to break it to you, but the cleaning fairy isn’t real.
I once heard these chores referred to as ‘maintenance’ chores. These are the chores that will always need doing from hanging up your towel to dry after a shower to unpacking your bag after school or work. And the great thing about these maintenance chores is that they are simple and there is ample opportunity for your child to practise them.
You can start teaching your child them from an early age so that they become habit and doesn’t even feel like a chore at all.
2. Share the Load of Chores
Finding simple chores for your kids that they can achieve independently are a great way to start sharing the load around your home. Even the quickest of chores can start to feel like a burden if piled upon one person.
So start getting the kids involved today. Can they tidy up their toys when they have finished playing with them? Are they able to carry their plates back to the kitchen after dinner? Get your kids to help you with the cleaning, especially their bedrooms and family areas.
And then take the time you have saved by sharing the daily chores to spend some quality time together. Let your kids see the reward of helping around the home. Thank them and praise them regularly, reminding them that their help is beneficial to those around them.
3. Achieve Your Chores Today
Split your chores for your kids into two simple categories:
Independent chores: chores that your kids can complete independently will promote positive feelings of achievement, usefulness and productivity. It allows children to take responsibility for an area of the home such as their shoes, their toys and their clothes. These chores don’t need to be micro-managed, but you can leave them to express their creativity and imagination while they work. The best games usually start in the middle of tidy-up time.
Co-Dependent Chores: our children are always growing and becoming more capable. But there are a range of chores that will require some training and learning. They will need to be shown how to safely chop vegetables, how to fold laundry and where things are best placed in the dishwasher for a good clean. Teaching your children how to do these chores alongside them may take longer in the short-term but in the long-term you are enhancing their skill set, teaching them how to work in a team and increasing their belief in themselves for all they can achieve.
4. Go Team Chores!
Do your chores as a team. By working together your kids will be learning another vital life skill (as well as how to do the chore). They will be learning how to work in a team. They will be able to flex their leadership muscles in a safe environment. Give them the opportunity to be creative and suggest how to attack the problem at hand.
Chores aren’t just about getting the job done. By taking the time to work alongside your kids, you have the opportunity to bond, to demonstrate team and social skills and how to problem-solve if the task proves more complicated than first thought.
5. Share your story
Sometimes the biggest hurdle to finding simple chores for your kids to do at home is working out what chores to give them. Think back to when you were a child and what you were expected to do to help around the home. Ask friends and family for ideas of what chores are suitable for children at a similar age or developmental level to your own.
You can also find some ideas from the following post for age-appropriate chores from toddlers to teenagers. Click here.
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