What They Don’t Teach Kids at School

Find out which age appropriate life skills can foster self-reliance, confidence and responsibilty in your child. Prepare your child for school and life by teaching them these valuable life skills at home…

Chores at home go hand in hand with development and can help your child succeed later on in life. Find out what your child should know according to their age and how to incorporate this into your daily life below. To help you get this routine started we would like to offer you this FREE downloadable chore chart!  Click here to download. Read more for guidance on how to introduce chores to your children and which chores work for their age.

INTRODUCING CHORES TO YOUR KIDS

Start by making sure your child knows what you expect from him/her. Break each task down into clear steps and teach them what you expect them to understand. Be patient – repeat the steps of the chore with your child and model how to do each step. Check out the below link to some fun YouTube videos that introduce basic chores to kids.

This is the Way I Help Mommy -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tFtZAh9sRs

Clean Up Song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPq7wzGEjqE

Start small by guiding your child step-by-step and providing clear ‘rules’ to follow. Show your child how you do it (explaining each of the rules) then guide them while they practice the skill. You can remind your child of steps and even ask them to tell you what the steps are. Take it slow by starting with 5-10 minutes a day where you allow your child to practice a skill independently. Use the below chore chart to help keep track of chores and set a reward at the end of the week for completed chores.

Click here to download your Free Chore Chart

Below is a list of age-appropriate chores that your kids can help you with and learn some valuable life skills at the same time!

Ages 2-3

It might seem young to start doing chores with toddlers but teaching them these simple tasks can help them learn responsibility and gain confidence in themselves and their abilities.

• Put toys away
• Put shoes away
• Put dirty clothes in the washing basket
• Place books on bookshelf
• Fetch nappies/wipes
• Help set the table

 Ages 4-5

At this age, children love to mimic their parents and older siblings. They will love the opportunity to feel independent and capable. Praise them for a job well done. Help them learn to be responsible by teaching them the following skills:

• Gets dressed
• Brush teeth (with assistance)
• Make the bed (not perfect)
• Put away clean clothes
• Teach ‘inside voice’ – differentiate between loud and quiet times
• Wipe up spills
• Water the plants
• Feed pets (with assistance)

 Ages 6-7

Helping your children to become contributing members of the household and one day to society will give them the feeling of self-reliance, independence, self-confidence and responsibility. When they get to school or day care these tasks will be familiar to them so they can confidently show the teacher and others that they are capable. This starts with small chores at home, such as:

• Help prepare dinner
• Sets table/clears table (light objects)
• Help put light groceries away
• More independent play outside
• Wipe down bathroom/kitchen sinks and counters
• Sweep or rake
• Makes own lunch (simple sandwich/noodles)

 Ages 8-9

Your child will be in big school and now will start becoming even more independent. They need to learn that certain chores need to be done every day before they can go outside and play. Time management is an important skill they will learn here:

•  Help put groceries away
• Load and unload the dishwasher
• Mop floors
• Dust the furniture
• Help bake cookies or scramble eggs
• Walk the dogs
• Do homework (guided by parent)

 Ages 10-11

 Older children need to learn to become self-reliant and confident in their own abilities, so start letting them do these tasks by themselves. They can’t depend on you for everything. Trusting them with certain tasks every will teach them to be responsible and self- sufficient. Teach them to:

• Make simple meals
• Take out the rubbish
• Wash clothes and move to the dryer
• Clean toilets, bath/shower, sinks
• Deep clean the kitchen
• Clean up after pets

 Ages 12+

When your children are in senior primary, you can help build on the valuable life skills that they are already learning such as independence, responsibility, confidence, time-management, and prioritisation. Now that they are older, you can let them:

• Guided Shopping for groceries (with a list)
• Make Full Meals
• Bake cake/bread on own
• Wash windows
• Clean the car
• Iron clothes
• Supervise younger children

Fostering independence and self-reliance in your child helps them to feel more confident and sets them up for success as adults. Asking children to do chores is not mean or pushing them to grow up too fast. In fact, children love to help around the house- not only do they feel a sense of accomplishment but they also feel immense satisfaction that they are a contributing member of the household. Guiding your children to learn important life skills will help them become successful and responsible adults.