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Chores for small children? - 5/31/2008 1:22:56 AM
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purplepixie87
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Aside from picking up their toys and messes that they make, what are good ideas for chores for smaller children? My children are aged 3, 2 and 1. The one year old wouldn't be doing chores, of course, but I would like to implement chores for the 2 and 3 year old girls. :)
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RE: Chores for small children? - 5/31/2008 1:39:13 AM
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cinderella092003
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I'd have them partially set the table at meal times. The oldest could set the forks, the middle one the spoons, and the youngest the napkins. The two older ones could help show the younger one how to do it. That would be a great way to teach them leadership skills and feel more grown up and the younger one would want to be like the other 2.
The could even help with making some of dinner. If you are making a salad, they could tear the lettuce up and put it in the bowl. If you have a meal that takes a lot of ingredients, the older ones can pour the ingredents after you measure them out, and one can stir or they can take turns. If you kids like pudding, that would be an easy start and they could see it change before their eyes, and be proud that they cooked something just like mommy.
That is all I can think of for now.
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RE: Chores for small children? - 5/31/2008 2:20:30 AM
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purplepixie87
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On the rare chance we do eat at the table, we always get our food before sitting down. I do wish we'd eat at the table more often, however. And that reminds me I need to buy a handful of cloth napkins and stuff!
They love helping in the kitchen, though, so that is a great idea. :)
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RE: Chores for small children? - 5/31/2008 3:19:25 AM
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nicole6598
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my 3 year old helps to load and unload the dishwasher. Last night she helped me "fold" the washing. She also puts away her underwear and her daddy's (his draws are easy to open, mine is old so its harder). She likes to "clean" things, so she gets a damp cloth and cleans the coffee table and the glass doors on the tv unit. She also helps take the garbage out, she will help me make the beds and things too(usually that is her just passing me the sheets and pillows).
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RE: Chores for small children? - 5/31/2008 3:45:27 AM
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purplepixie87
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My 3 year old daughter likes to help do all of those things as well. :) Both of them though like to clean things and help me load the dishwasher. I didn't really think of chores being household tasks that the kids already help with and like doing...
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RE: Chores for small children? - 5/31/2008 7:39:57 AM
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W.O.F.
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We also put our little ones in charge of emptying the bathroom trashes and bedroom trashes.....it is light work..and one that they don't have to be "reminded" of...they notice when the trash is full.
They put away their own socks from the time they are one. We gradually all all their laundry to that list as they can carry it (we put pictures of clothing on the front of their dresser drawers so that they know which drawer a certain item of clothing goes in....I just cut them out of magazines and tape them up there).
We also let them help with all the other chores...even if we have to "re do" later when they aren't around.
By the time they are 5...they are in the main rotation for chores...I have older teens so a lot of the chores Sarah has her little ones do, my teens do....but we still make sure the little ones get trained...even when it annoys the older ones. My teens now realize the value of that as their 8 year old sister just got added full time to the dish washing routine after supper....they now each get 2 nights off during the week instead of it being every night Monday through Saturday (my hubby and I do the dishes on Sunday to give them a break...so really...they get three days off!)
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Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders and says, "Oh no, she's awake."
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RE: Chores for small children? - 5/31/2008 8:59:15 AM
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pbaribeault
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>>click here<< for my list about my 3 year old.
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RE: Chores for small children? - 5/31/2008 12:07:05 PM
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purplepixie87
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Thanks all for the lists.
LOL peculiar_lady, I'm the same way! I'm always making lists of something. Whether it's stuff I'd like to have, or stuff for the kids, whatever..I'm always listing. :)
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RE: Chores for small children? - 5/31/2008 1:45:17 PM
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PatricksPeaches
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My youngest daughter is going to be 3 in January. We have her wipe our glass tables and mirrors. (we spray the glass cleaner) She also feeds the cat. (we open the can and she will put it on the floor for the cat) She is not potty trained yet, so she also gets her own diapers at changing time. (she throws them away too) She helps put groceries away. (she hands the canned goods and the boxed items to me) We also make her put her shoes and coat in it's correct place. (we have low shelves in the closet for her stuff) Anything that they are able to do and is safe, is good for them. Take advantage of letting them help. There may come a time when they don't want to help!!
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I am not claiming to have all the answers but I'm holding on to the one who does!
-quoted from a song by 33Miles called Come With Me
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RE: Chores for small children? - 5/31/2008 2:56:40 PM
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isaacsmom
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My 3 yo son can. . . .
--Put away his clothes after I fold the laundry
--Wipe things down with a rag
--Sweep (he tries, he's not really capable of completing the job well yet, but he likes to do this, so I let him)
--Gather eggs from chickens
--Help feed farm animals
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RE: Chores for small children? - 5/31/2008 2:59:18 PM
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Auben
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My 3 year old:
puts away silverware
fetches things for me
cleans windows and mirrors
puts away shoes
help put things away (needs to be very directed for putting away tasks, one thing at a time)
My 5 year old:
puts away silverware
feeds animals
sets table (I put piles on the counter and he sets them out)
straightens bedclothes
cleans room
puts things away (clean clothes, dirty clothes, toys, coats/shoes)
< Message edited by Auben -- 5/31/2008 3:08:16 PM >
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RE: Chores for small children? - 5/31/2008 11:12:16 PM
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purplepixie87
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quote:
ORIGINAL: peculiar_lady2
COOL!!!!
Another thing I find that works great in getting kids into chores more, is to have a cleaning time every day. For us it is 10am...every day...whether hubby is home or not, we do some kind of cleaning every day (unless something comes up of course). Also I keep it positive...I give them enough warning that they are all dressed and ready to go at that time...then we buzz through and get everything done. We typically do one room at a time (starting either on one side of the house or the other every other day) and end in the middle. The 8yo does not clean with us (he likes to clean by himself, and is old enough to do so...so he does the kitchen when we are doing the other rooms). Very rarely does it take us that long to get through cleaning...even with all the little hands helping out with everything (max is about an hour, and that's IF we have ti sit in the girls room and pick up a bunch of toys...which is about once a week). Most days we can buzz through in about 30 minutes then I vacuum while they run ahead of me picking up all the small stuff we missed in cleaning.
LOL! I'm not even fully awake at 10 on most days (I wake up between 9 and 11 AM, depends when the kids wake up, usually around 9~ish, but it takes a few cups of coffee and about 2 hours of being awake before I'm actually FULLY awake)!!! My kids don't wake up at the same times either. My youngest is usually awake around 9-9:30, the others don't wake up until around 10, my eldest is usually not up until closer to noon. I know I need to work a bedtime routine in, but I want to get all the rules settled FIRST, and for them to get it in their heads to obey those rules first. I will be probably doing homeschooling, so the wake time shouldn't affect anything.
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RE: Chores for small children? - 6/8/2008 11:08:17 PM
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MyMasquerade
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I have a 10 year old who still doesn't have to do chores. Her job is going to school and making the best grades she can make. To me that is the only job she needs at this age.
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RE: Chores for small children? - 6/9/2008 5:22:05 PM
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mayfly
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Lots of great suggestions here, I'm writing some of these down to use when I have kids!
When I was 3 I started doing basic chores--helping fold laundry, taking out the trash, feeding the cats, cleaning up my toys, etc. Every birthday my mom added one new thing to the list (washing dishes, hanging up clothes on the clothesline, making myself a simple breakfast, cleaning the bathrooms, etc). Now that I'm old enough to be living on my own I am so grateful that I had to learn this stuff young. I have lots of friends who are, like me, in their early 20s, and they have no idea how to function on their own--they can't even figure out how to work the washing machine! I pity their future husbands...
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RE: Chores for small children? - 6/9/2008 8:59:32 PM
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W.O.F.
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quote:
ORIGINAL: MyMasquerade
I have a 10 year old who still doesn't have to do chores. Her job is going to school and making the best grades she can make. To me that is the only job she needs at this age.
I feel sorry for your daughter. Having chores does not mean overburdening them...it usually means 20 minutes or less or work..and trains them to care for themselves and their own belongings.
Most studies on children indicate that kids who have chores are better organized and usually have better self esteem than children who don't. They also do not have a sense of entitlement when they hit their teen years
Here are some links on the subject:
Bradley Hospital
Center for Effective Parenting
University of New Hampshire
< Message edited by W.O.F. -- 6/9/2008 9:11:19 PM >
_____________________________
Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders and says, "Oh no, she's awake."
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RE: Chores for small children? - 6/10/2008 12:19:55 AM
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MyMasquerade
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quote:
ORIGINAL: 3cappuccinosmom
quote:
I have a 10 year old who still doesn't have to do chores. Her job is going to school and making the best grades she can make. To me that is the only job she needs at this age.
So, when she's 25 and done with school, and when she's married with children, how is she going to cope with work when she's never been taught?
The basics of housekeeping and a good work ethic are an important aspect of education, IMO.
Housekeeping and good work ethic aren't the same thing. I never had to clean house and can do it now. I don't like doing it, but I can. My daughter has no problem with working. She has a lawn service that she and a friend started and she has a job at a snowball stand down the road. She cuts our grass and she will clean the kitchen and bathrooms, she isn't expected to do these things though.
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RE: Chores for small children? - 6/16/2008 5:17:21 PM
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TammyIsBlessed
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WOF - did you buy the books "Managers of their Homes" and "Managers of their Chores"? If so, are they worth it?
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I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do. Helen Keller
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