Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Easy Toddler Chores

I know what you're thinking. "Really?" Yes, really. My 2 year old does "chores", and let me tell you why.
Growing up, the only time I had to do "chores" was on the weekend. I'd have to make my bed and dust in the living room. Occasionally I'd have to vacuum. It wasn't until I was 20 years old and moving into an apartment that I learned how to wash my own clothes. Yes, I was very spoiled. At the time of course, I thought I was living the life! Most of my friends had daily chores, or spent all of Saturday morning cleaning, but not me. It wasn't until I had my own family that I realized that it was actually detrimental that I didn't do chores as a child. It's so much harder to get into a routine when you're not USED to doing it.
So I decided I was going to start Adelei out young. She might not do much now, but at least she'll grow up with a routine and hopefully she'll be better at this whole thing than I am.

The best part about chores with Adelei is she's still young enough to think it's fun [usually].
Here are some things that she does around the house:

-Makes her bed 
Right now it's more like she throws her blanket, animals, and pillow on there, but we'll work on neatness later.

-Helps me put clothes in the dryer
This? May be the most fun thing for her. It's kind of like throwing a ball through a hoop. How can that not be fun? Especially when I cheer her on.

-Picks up her toys
Our living room isn't very big, so when she has all of her toys scattered throughout, it can be a little annoying. Several times in the day I have her pick up the toys she's not using and put them away. Then, before bedtime I help her put them all away. I noticed that productivity increases when she has help.

-Cleans up her messes
If she spills some milk, she cleans it up. If she tears the paper off of a crayon, she cleans it up. You get the idea. 

What chores do your children do?

2 comments:

Missus Elle said...

Evelyn helps me put away the dishes.. the girl has been wanting to help me with chores for so long! I finally just let her help with the dishes..but I make sure to grab the knives first. She just needs to learn the difference between dirty and clean ;)
But she also cleans up her play areas and will also help me load clothes into the washer and dryer. She likes to help shake out the clothes too when I am folding them :)

Ashley said...

I love this! I, like you, didn't do much growing up and was spoiled. This was very detrimental to being a domestic wife! My husband taught me to wash clothes after we got married...and it's the military way of washing....everything together! I still don't have a routine and can't seem to find a balance of house and work! Maybe when I have kids or spend more time at home this will be easy? I doubt it.