My Children’s Household Chores

Chores are for everyone. They can be simple like cleaning up toys or hard like flipping the mattress but they need to be done so the house can keep on running smoothly. It can be pain staking to get everyone in the house involved. It’s good for all members in the household to participate, after all they help make the mess too. Cleaning and organizing is good for the soul.

I have five people who live in my house and by the end of the day, there are toys and stuff strewn all about. After dinner, it’s clean up the house time. I like to have one part of the day set for clean up and chores. Since my younger children play with their toys most of the day, I like the evenings to be for cleaning up. It doesn’t make sense any other time of the day.

My eight year old chores are a more involved than her sister and brother’s chores. I ask her to unload and load the dishwasher for me a few times a week. I put away the knives and the harder to reach dishes. Also, every Sunday, she sweeps up the small tiled front foyer with a dust pan and broom. She actually enjoys the chores that she is given so getting her to do them isn’t hard. As she grows, so will her chores around the house. It’s a starting point for her.

We have a Keurig coffee maker and use the K-Cups that are in a carousal contraption for easy use. When we are running out of K-Cups, I have my four year old refill the carousal. She happily does it and it takes her just a few minutes to get it done. It’s an easy task but she does it nicely and it is something for her to do. I also think it makes her feel like a big girl to have a chore.

Doing laundry isn’t terribly fun but it’s important. I’ve figured out a way for my two year old to help out without destroying my folded separated piles. After the laundry is washed, I have my son help my put the wet clothes in the dryer and he loves to slam the dryer door shut as hard as he can. Then when the clothes are dried, he helps take the laundry out of the dryer. Again, he slams the dryer door shut with a big bang. He pushes the laundry basket to the couch for me because that is where I fold the laundry. He’s a big helper and he has fun doing it.

In addition to the chores above, my kids are responsible for tasks like making their beds, brushing their teeth, putting away their folded clothes in their dressers, cleaning their toys, and clearing their plates when they are done eating. I think it’s teaching them how to be responsible for their things. We all had to learn at one time or another.

Running a full house takes patience and consistency. Some days chores are harder to get through than other days but when everything is all picked up, the children are proud of themselves. It’s a stepping stone and learning curve that is essential to growing.