What can they handle? Older children can work more independently, wiping down windowsills, taking down the curtains to wash, vacuuming, pulling weeds and sweeping out the garage and driveway. Why should they pitch in? With regard to clearing out the toy bin, it’s important for kids to learn the habit of “We’ve outgrown this.” With other daily chores, it’s important for them to build life skills. What daily or weekly chores can they do? Elementary age children can help gather up the trash, make their beds and help keep their rooms clean. Give them a small broom and ask them to go around the edges of a room and sweep out the crevices. What can they handle? Young kids can help with simple tasks as long as you’re in the same room as them. Here are her suggestions for chores your kids can do year-round. She also says don’t criticize your kids’ work if it’s not exactly to your specifications otherwise, they won’t want to help out again. Cobb says it’s important when you’re cleaning with kids to use natural cleaning products. Cobb says it’s best to try and keep up with chores on a year-round basis and teach your kids about cleaning from a very young age. Then clean a room that doesn’t need much work so you have a feeling of accomplishment before moving on to the other rooms. Does cleaning seem like a daunting task? New York Times bestselling author Linda Cobb, the Queen of Clean, says to make cleaning easier, “Don’t clean anything that isn’t dirty.” To save sanity, first go room-by-room through the house and make a list of what needs to be cleaned. She and her husband, Levi, have two sons and live in Conway. Chores help develop a sense of involvement and self-worth.īrittany Gilbert is a FACS teacher at Maumelle High School. The older your child gets, the more important chores become, not only for the management of a home, but also for the growth of the person. We can’t sing the song without our son going to pick up a toy and put it up without realizing what he’s doing. Most daycares and schools sing this song, and chances are your child already knows it. In our house, we like to sing the “clean up” song. There are fun ways to get children involved in chores. Creative charts with stickers for finishing a task are also fun for children and help them follow through. Maybe you don’t want to pay your children to do chores, and that’s fine, too, but you want to encourage, not force them to do the work.
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It’s a lot different when it’s your money, though, and is often a valuable lesson in the reason why we give. When I was little, I would ask my parents for money to put in the offering plate. Most children who see their parents give or tithe want to be involved somehow. Paying a child for their work is also an opportunity to teach them about giving and/or tithing. I have even seen parents of teenagers who put a dollar amount on specific chores, and their children can pick how they want to be paid. One benefit in paying a child for chores instead of simply giving an allowance is teaching them about work ethic. This is a personal decision, and there is no right or wrong way to go about it some parents choose to pay their children, and some do not. Chores can help develop a sense of “family” when children see the effort that goes in to keeping a house clean and the type of teamwork that it requires. They begin to understand the care and attention that it takes to keep a house clean. Responsibility and being part of “the team.” Your child can feel ownership and thus take better care of belongings and their home. Simple yard and garden chores can help build gross motor skills, which include the use of large muscles, such as arms and legs.
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A 5-year-old can help match socks, and this helps with not only cognitive development, but also sensory motor skills through the use of small muscles, such as those in fingers, to fold the socks. Sweeping, mopping, cleaning counters, folding laundry and matching socks are all examples of how chores can help with both sensory and gross motor skills.
#CLEAN UP CLEAN UP EVERYBODY EVERYWHERE HOW TO#
However, there are greater benefits than just teaching your children how to clean and keeping them occupied.ĭeveloping motor skills. These resources can be very useful and even fun when you set up a system with charts and rewards. You will find creative ways to incorporate children into daily chores and spring-cleaning. Many checklists can be found all over the Internet to help assign chores according to ages and abilities.
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Chores can be a crucial developmental tool for children and go a long way in helping parents with the workload of maintaining a home.