Chores For You And Me

Helping out around the house is a responsibility that should be shared by every family member.  Even your four year old can find success and feel the sense of accomplishment and pride as she helps in the daily chores.  First of all, if you want your child to do a job well you need to model for her how to accomplish the task. Don’t expect her to do it perfectly, as these tasks will take a lot of practice and gentle correcting before they done well.  Remember it’s the thought that counts so if the washcloths aren’t folded in a perfect square it’s ok!  At the very least, appreciate the fact that she put forth her best effort.  Give affirmations as your child is doing a chore and when she completes it. Point out what she is doing well.  Encouragement and praise can go a long way and she will be more likely to want to help the next time.

There are a lot of ways four year olds can help with chores.  My favorite chore that my children loved to help with was folding laundry.  I would take the load of clean, dry clothes and dump them out on the carpet (clean carpet, of course!).  The first thing my children would do was jump in the pile!  I know, you might be cringing, but it didn’t hurt anything.  Then I would pull out little things for them to fold such as washcloths, small towels, socks or underwear.  We practiced sorting and matching as we put together similar items and sorted the clothes by family member.  It was a great way to be together, get a job done and practice various skills as they came up.  Once, my daughter lined up all the socks by size and another time my other daughter counted all the washcloths.  These natural opportunities for learning were perfect for fostering skill development.

Your four-year can even help set the kitchen table for meals.  She can practice one to one correspondence as she sets the correct place settings for each chair.  She can fold the napkins into fun shapes.  After dinner she can set a dish in the sink or on the counter for washing.  Also, keep in mind that children love to play in the water so you might even have a handy dandy dishwasher on your hands! 

Helping by putting toys away should be a natural part of living in a family and creating a safe environment.  You can make this easier for your child by labeling bins or baskets so your child knows where things go and it’s not a chaotic mess.  When she understands the rules of placement she will not hesitate to put things where they belong, though she may need some encouragement to get moving.  After all, it’s so hard to stop playing when you are four years old!  Look around your house.  What types of chores do you think you could engage your child in?  It’s more fun working together than doing chores alone.  After cleaning celebrate and praise her for her willingness to help and work as a team!