Good Chores for Small Children

When your three-year-old spills water all over the floor or leaves his or her toys strewn across the house, you may find yourself spending the majority of the day feeling like a human vacuum cleaner, following him around and cleaning up every mess. But toddlers need to learn to keep clean just like every other family member in your house, and there’s no better time to teach them than now.

Toddlers will get a kick out of cleaning, so you’ll hear less whining and more “Ok!” responses if you maintain the enthusiasm. Don’t command, “Lucy, clean up this room now!” Instead, excitedly say, “Lucy, let’s clean up! It’s fun!” Follow up with an engaging cleaning song or a CD, make a game about cleaning quickly, and boom, you’re done in ten minutes.

Aside from picking up their rooms and cleaning up after themselves—which most preschoolers should be able to do, at least with some help—here are a few other appropriate chores for small children.

Laundry: “But wait!” you protest, “My teenager can’t even sort clothes yet!” That’s the point. At this early age, your toddler will not be able to pour in detergent or put clothes in the washer (though you can make a game out of that; I used to let my daughter pick up items and I’d lift her, doing a squat as she threw it into the washer. Laundry done, plus a workout for Mama!), but you can begin to teach him about sorting. Show him how to sort the clothes into piles, and when you are folding laundry, let him attempt to fold a washcloth or pair up socks. He may not be all that much help yet, but this will ensure that he’ll learn the skills that will allow him to help when he gets older.

Feeding Fido: My daughter loves to feed our cats. Just make sure your scoop—we use an old toddler drinking cup—is an appropriate size and made out of something durable. As he gets better at pouring, you may even want to let him help with watering the plants as well.

Shutting Lights Off: It’s never too early to teach about saving energy! If the light switch is too high, you can always help.

Clearing Plates: Your child can learn to scrape his or her plate into the compost bin or garbage as a preschooler, and then to put it in the sink. You may also want to let him help set the table—if you’re using plastic ware, or simply just the napkins—and help make food, such as stirring batter and pouring ingredients in.