Chores

The Quick Guide To Getting Started With Chores

If your kids don’t contribute at all the running of the house, that can be tough. Need some help getting started with chores? We’ve got it all! This post was originally written by my friend and mom of 4 Val, and has been updated and edited by me.

Teaching your children to be good, hard workers is completely possible and feasible. The tricky thing about it is that it takes a lot of time. I am not talking a week or two—I am talking years.

Of all the things I have taught my children, learning to work and clean has taken the longest. Perhaps this is why many parents find themselves with six year olds who still don’t make a real contribution toward cleaning the home.

This takes time and consistency.

Getting started with chores is quick – perfection takes years

Now, just because it takes years to fully establish doesn’t mean you can’t see improvements along the way. But bear in mind that you will need to be consistent and patient over years if you want to have a child who is a great helper down the road.

Another thing to keep in mind is that some children are naturally more inclined toward cleaning than others—just like adults are. Some of us like cleaning more than others do. Those naturally inclined toward cleaning will be helpful younger than those not inclined.

I have had both kinds of children, and trust me when I tell you that if you stick with it, your non-lover-of-cleaning child will be a good helper too!

An age timeline

⭐Babies

Babies under one just won’t be helpful. Some might get to the point close to age one to help put things back away, but they likely will grab it back out as soon as they put something away. Clean with them anyway.

Honestly, babyhood is a great time to Get Started with Chores because – while babies don’t help – we mothers get used to doing house jobs with kids around.

⭐Pre-toddlers

Pre-Toddlers (12-18 months) will start to “contribute.” This is darling and will melt your heart. But it still won’t lighten your load.

⭐Toddlers

Toddlers get better at making messes faster then get better at cleaning them up. They can take on small chore tasks, though, and if you are patient, they can finish them. They will need help throughout the whole process.

⭐Preschoolers

3 year olds are messy little things! This is the messiest age. You will have bigger messes with a three year old around. A three year old, however, can also help clean up messes made. They still need time and direction, but can be some help.

Four is when things start to look up. A four year old can clean and do some chores independently. A four year old seems to make fewer messes. The four year old still needs instruction and small jobs, but you will see a big turn around at this age.

⭐Elementary aged kids and up

Five and older just continues to get better and better.

Many 5-6 year olds can be shown a room that is a big mess and told simply to “clean it” and they can and will.

[Read more…]

4 Reasons It’s Hard for Moms To Teach Their Kids To Clean

It’s honestly not easy teaching kids to clean. It feels like more trouble than it’s worth! Here are ways to get your kids doing chores with you.

I walked into our laundry room and stopped short at the avalanche of clean clothes piled up on the floor.

On another day, I might have cried.

“No,” I thought, “I will not let the state of this room make me lose my mind. I will just have the kids help me.”

It went downhill from there.

I took the Mt. Everest size mound of towels, wash cloths, dish towels, and underwear and sort of tossed them on the living room floor.

I gathered the kids to myself like a good mama hen does and said, “Alright, kids, it’s time to fold these towels.”

There was flailing, there was whining, there were some comments about how having to do all that work isn’t fair. So I wisened up and separated the huge pile into smaller manageable piles.

This helped them get in the game.

I went about my business folding some other items in the laundry room while I left the boys to fold. They already know how to do the job well so I didn’t see the need to hover.

Plus, one cannot effectively hover over 5 children so it’s a defeating practice.

Then I came back in the room…

I come back in the room a few minutes later to a very proud of himself 4 year old smiling at me like he’d just won the sack race.

“Mom,” he said, “Look!” as he pointed to his pile of folded towels.

Except that they were not folded. They were all very strategically curled into something resembling jelly rolls. About 14 of them.

Read: Quiet time (Rest time) for Toddlers: All You Need to Know

I was at a crossroads.

I could have him redo them all into squares so that he’d understand how towels are really supposed to be folded. Or I could just put them away as is.

Let’s just say the linen closet looked interesting for a bit.

It’s Hard Teaching Kids To Clean… And What To Do

As mothers, we all have the best intentions when it comes to teaching our kids to clean. And, we know that according to research, one of the biggest predictors of success is whether or not kids grew up doing chores.

This is BIG!

So, now that we know it’s really important that we’re teaching kids to clean and do chores around the house, let’s dive into a few things that stop us and how to course correct.

1. We Make It Hard For Kids Logistically

If we only clean with bleach and don’t have any child friendly cleaning supplies, it’s no wonder they can’t help. When our goal is to help involve children in the cleaning we also to make it accessible for them.

That means using child friendly cleaning supplies and tools. It means we find ways that they are able to help and we aren’t paranoid. Get a cleaning caddy just for your kids and fill it with safe things they know how to use. This will help create an association with chore time as well.

Family Practices & Contribution

0-5, 13-18, 6-12

No Nag Chore Routines

Getting kids to do chores shouldn’t be a daily battle. Let me help you build a simple, age-appropriate system that teaches independence, teamwork, and responsibility—without constant micromanaging. Because a well-run home isn’t about doing it all yourself.

Start Now

2. Moms Can Be Perfectionists

Let’s admit it. Some of us don’t want our kids to clean because they don’t do it Just Right and that annoys us.

Mama, I’m here to tell you what is even more annoying… doing it all on your own. Children aren’t born knowing how to clean.

They have to be taught what to do and learn the household standards. If your standards are lower, this will be easier. 🙂

The trick is to adjust your expectations. With toddlers and preschoolers we can expect contribution, but this will be a learning phase. There will be multiple occasions where you are still teaching your child the skills needed to do the job. This is okay. This is what creates children who are confident to do the job you’ve given them.

Realize that expecting perfection creates disappointment and despondency in your children because they know their work isn’t “good enough.”

Practice makes progress.

3. We Clean While They’re Gone or Sleeping

One of the biggest reasons children don’t learn to clean is they never actually see cleaning happen. If we save all our chores for nap times, after bed, or while kids are in school they miss out on both observation and practice. While it is more labor intensive, save some chores for them.

This is a big challenge for me personally. Chore time can easily turn into a madhouse if I’m having all my older kids doing their chores independently and in different rooms.

Here’s how I combat this. I will either take one child at a time to complete a group of tasks, or we’ll all work on one room at a time so everyone stays together. This allows me to help, observe, and oversee all that’s happening.

The other week I took my 3 year old to the bathroom for some chores. Since I encourage outside play, my bathtub is full of dirt every night. I’m talking the bottom looks like we made mud pies. So my son got in the tub to clean the dirt out. He worked hard for a few minutes and it was done.

Side note, it’s also a good opportunity for individual time if you do chores with one child at a time while the other children are occupied.

Read: The Real Reason Moms Never Have Enough Time (Hint: It Isn’t Because We Waste It)

chore cards sitting on a table — Printable cards with over 100+ chores.

4. We Lose Sight Of The End Goal

As parents we are often found choosing between something good, better, or best.

The trouble with this, of course, is that we are not quite sure which is which.

We want our children to learn to clean, but we want peace and quiet.

Also, we want our home to be tidy, but we want our kids to actually live well in our homes.

We want to take the time to teach our children well, but we also don’t want to spend all day teaching tasks that only take us a few minutes.

Family Practices & Contribution

0-5, 13-18, 6-12

Family Tidy Routines

This workshop will help you build a simple 15-minute daily routine that fits into real life—so the house stays (mostly) clean and the kids finally learn to help. Because a clean home is a team effort, not a one-mom show.

Start Now

Putting in the hard work of teaching pays off

When we find ourselves floundering in this area – or any area of parenting really – the key is to think of our end goal.

One of our end goals (in this area of life) is to raise children who can carry responsibilities and take care of themselves. In the beginning this will mean we put in a lot of effort.

But, as times goes by, that effort will pay off with children who contribute willingly to the running of the household.

The other evening I was feeling spent.

Worn out.

Over the monotonous repetition of housework.

On a lark, I asked my 6 and 5 year-olds to load the dishwasher for me so I could give the little boys a bath. They heartily agreed and set to work as I went on bath duty. Periodically, I check in to see their progress. They were laughing, singing, and – Behold A Miracle – loading the dishwasher.

Not only did they have a good time… they actually did the work.

And they did it well.

I haven’t worked my way out of a job yet, but I’m getting there.

Sources:

The Importance Of Life Skills For Kids (With Printables By Age!)

The importance of life skills can’t be understated. Here are life skills for toddlers, preschoolers, kids, and social skills and activities.

When you’ve got little kids, this idea of “life skills” can be daunting.

You feel like… my toddler’s only skills are destrying the house and refusing to eat vegetables.

That’s how we’re moving now.

You feel all this pressure to teach them things and then you realize your 6 year old can’t tie his own shoes because, really, he never had any shoes with shoelaces until those baseball cleats showed up.

a woman and son on the kitchen floor folding laundry

This is when we back up. Release the guilt and stress and whatever else… and say… we’re just gonna start with the basics.

We’re not going to imagine them 35 still living at home unable to work the washing machine. No, we are not going to jump to Bad Scenarios in our head.

As is a mantra around here – and definitely when teaching life skills – we will dive in and just do Something. Something is infinitely better than Nothing and Everything was always impossible so now Something is the new standard.

With me?

Okay.

The Importance Of Life Skills

It is important our kids know how to take care of themselves, of course, so let’s dive in!

child learning life skills at home in an activity

First, Essential Skills Everyone Needs To Know

So let’s first talk about basic life skills people of all ages need to know. Then we’ll dive into more specifics.

I am describing these things with respect to little kids, okay, but you’ll be able to apply it to adults.

Basic hygiene | This includes brushing teeth, washing or showering one’s self, wiping, washing hands, etc.
Self care | Taking clothes off, putting clothes on, brushing hair, putting on shoes, tying shoe laces
Life management | Saving money, paying bills, preparing food, working, etc.
Environment Organization | Cleaning, tidying, washing clothes, maintaining room/home

Life Skills For Toddlers

These little precious bundles of joy. Hopefully you’re on a good toddler schedule and they can follow it without nagging.

You’ll have much fewer toddler tantrums if you have a good bedtime routine and some basic disciplines in place.

Here are some life skills (and some self care skills) your little ones can do.

Putting clothes in laundry basket
Putting toys away in toy basket
Brushing teeth
Combing hair
Dusting (with a feather duster)
Going potty on their own (for early potty trainers)
Washing face and hands
Feeding one’s self
Clearing place at the table after dinner
Helping to set table (non breakable things)

Read: Chores 2 and 3 Year Olds Can Do On Their Own

Family Practices & Contribution

0-5, 13-18, 6-12

Family Tidy Routines

Start Now

Life Skills For Preschoolers

Preschoolers are old enough to do a lot of things.

They are now potty trained, able to communicate much more freely, and are on a more free daily routine.

Preschoolers are also able to do quite a few chores well and are much more independent than toddlers. You may be experiencing more defiance than before, but you’ll all get there.

Bringing in groceries from car
Setting the table
Clear place after snacks and mealtimes
Prepare their own snack
Wiping table and counter tops
Folding towels
Washing hands
Brushing teeth
Making bed
Putting on and taking off clothes
Using the potty
Swimming (this is a neat trick if you own a pool)
Vacuuming
Sweeping (may need help with dustpan as they build the scooping skill)

Read: 7 Phrases To Encourage Independence In Toddlers & Preschoolers

Life Skills For Kids (Early Elementary And Up)

Here are things you can begin teaching your kids aged 5 and up. Really, you can probably teach them earlier if you have keen pupils.

By this age children are fairly independent in their personal self care and hygiene needs, although you still may have to do quite a bit of reminding.

Gathering and taking out trash
Cleaning sinks and counter tops
Cleaning toilets
Loading and unloading dishwasher
Pumping gas (my 7 year old son pumps our gas safely)
Washing clothes, transferring to dryer, folding, then putting clothes away
Understanding how clocks and time works
Ordering at restaurants, speaking politely to employees (restaurants, cashiers, clerks, store assistants, etc.)
Packing lunches
Cooking simple meals
Clean mirrors
Iron
Wipe cabinets
Sweep / mop

Read: 5 Things You Think Your Kids Can’t Do — That They Can

Teaching Social Skills

This is where we help our kids learn the socially acceptable rules in our own culture.

Every country has its own rules (bowing vs hand shake vs cheek kiss, etc.) so teaching our kids how to handle themselves socially will help them develop social confidence.

Greeting an adult
Greeting another child
How to ask a child or group of children if they want to play (or if he can join their play)
Sharing
Listening to another child without interrupting
Asking polite questions
Making eye contact
Saying “please” and “thank you”
Learning proper contact / distance that makes others comfortable
How to know if something is considered “rude” or not (i.e. correcting strangers, saying you don’t like food another cooked, etc.)

Read: How To Train Your Kids To Manage Their Introvert/Extrovert Tendencies

Connection & Culture

0-5, 13-18, 6-12

Manners in a Disconnected World

Equipping parents with a simple, consistent approach to teaching and reinforcing good manners so that their child naturally incorporates polite behavior into daily life.

Start Now

Life Management Skills

These are what I refer to more as informational or knowledge based skills that will helpful navigate a wide range of activities.

Learning their phone number
Knowing how to call 911
Memorizing their address
How to ask a stranger for help
How to use a phone (or cell phone) to call 911 even if it’s locked
Learning how to count money

Read: What To Do If You Lose Your Child In Public

child learning money management skills, counting money

Checklist (Printable By Age)

Here is a free printable for you with all the life skills shown above, by age, so you can check them off as you address them with your littles!

Real Chores Preschoolers and Toddlers Can Do Well

Here are some chores toddlers and preschoolers can do around the house that are age appropriate and easy. You’ll love the help!

I am a long game person. A big picture thinker.

In some ways, this causes stress for my personality type, but in others it’s a blessing. I think about current events with one eye on the future. And that’s why I have always had my kids do everything they can on their own.

I knew I wanted 4 children, and the thought of having 4 teenagers not used to helping out was just too much for me.

In fact, it is surprising what things 2 and 3-year-olds can actually do on their own.

While I don’t have a chore chart or chore rotation yet, I do have the children help me do quite a few things around the house regularly.

And we like to use these cards to do it.

Keys to getting toddler and preschooler participation in chore time

make it a routine activity
have clear boundaries
don’t make it optional

When we say things like, “Would you mind?” or “Don’t you want to?” we actually confuse the kids.

If the chore is optional, fine, but if you are requiring them to do this chore, the best thing to do is to say kindly but firmly, “We’re going to do x now, let’s hop to it!“

I’ll talk more about how to get toddlers and preschoolers to participate without coercion later.

Read: A No Nagging Morning Routine For School (With Printable)

(See above. I cut off the toes in the boys’ onesies when they are the right size but too short. My boys are all tall.

This helps extend the onesie’s life for months and months, and since I pass all boy clothes down I don’t worry about not getting enough use or being too tatty to donate!)

Read: 5 Truths About Parenting Toddlers — That We Tend To Forget

Chores toddlers and preschoolers can actually do well

Folding towels and clothes | Both my 4 and 3-year-old do this very well and neatly. My 2-year-old can do hand towels as well. I no longer fold any towels or small blankets ever.
Picking up toys | This is a fluid thing throughout the day since toys are in and out. But during room time or when the kids are playing in an area, before they are allowed to do the next thing they must clean up.
Vacuuming | Dust busting particularly. If the vacuum is relatively quiet this is a plus, if not, toddlers might shy away. However, vacuuming is easier for the kids than sweeping I’ve found. This is handy after dinner, under the chairs or barstools or when they’ve made a mess from snack.
Clearing place at table | Before the kids can get down from the table, they have to put their plates, cutlery, and cups by or in the sink or in the dishwasher. If it’s a paper plate, they’ll throw it away.

Read: After School Routines For Kids That Prevents Meltdowns

More Chores For Toddlers And Preschoolers

Putting clothes in laundry basket | We have a laundry basket in each child’s room they can use. Most of the time they don’t remove clothes and put directly into the basket, but we’re working on it.
Setting table | Many readers have their 2 and 3-year-olds set the table for meals. Since I plate my kids’ food, my kids only lay out drinks and silverware.
Make bed | I call this “straightening the bed” with mine because heavy covers can be a chore, but they straighten their blankets, comforters, and toys.
Gathering trash cans | The trash is picked up on Tuesday morning, so Monday afternoons I’ll get the kids to bring the trash cans from their respective rooms or bathroom and we’ll combine them to be put outside.
“Fetch” | I love getting my kids to fetch me this or that. They feel useful, and it is honestly helpful for me.
Put away books | If you have a place for books specifically, kids can easily do this chore. If your kids are like mine, they will take out a lot of books at once, so it’s handy if they learn to put them back.

Read: Life Skills For Kids By Age (With Printables!)

How to “enforce” chores

Toddlers and preschoolers are Still Learning So Many Skills. I hope it goes without saying you’ll approach chores differently for a preschooler than a teenager, but there will still be some boundaries that’ll help you going forward.

Read: How to Raise Cleaning Machines: An Epic Household Chore List

Family Practices & Contribution

0-5, 13-18, 6-12

No Nag Chore Routines

Start Now

printable chore cards — Get 101+ chore cards to use with your toddlers and preschoolers

Create Logical Order In Your Daily Routine

Instead of having my children go to their rooms and clean at random times, they have to do it in order to do the next thing.

So, for example, they can’t come to breakfast until they’ve made their beds and straightened their rooms.

After room play time, they can’t come out until they’ve put their toys back. No snack until play area is clean.

This helps because they associate chores with certain times and are less likely to fight it.

Teach, teach, teach then stand back

I have two children who want to know how to do something, then run with it. They don’t want you to interfere and aren’t interested in your help unless they are truly in need.

I have another child who just wants you to do everything for him.

It’s always too hard even if he’s done it 100 times. With them all I teach, teach, teach then let them have at it. Once I know they can do it, I step back and do not hover. Even children find joy in completing a task.

Family Practices & Contribution

0-5, 13-18, 6-12

Family Tidy Routines

Start Now

Kindness and No Nonsense

This is true in all of parenting, really. Be kind and loving, but don’t get in power struggles. If you need them to do something, have them do it. If they won’t, give a consequence.

No meanness, no shaming, no drama. Just two choices. Do the chore or get a consequence or loss of privilege.

For us, this usually just means if one child refuses to do a chore they must remain there until they do it. This never lasts long, and the child usually completes the task fairly quickly if I leave them to it.

Saying, “As soon as you are done folding the towels you can come down to dinner. You can’t leave your room, though, until it’s done,” then walking away works a lot better.

Give it Time And Carry On Consistently

Lastly, just give the little things time. Once they see that chores are a regular part of family life, and they are required to join in, they’ll actually get a sense of pride.

Pride they are helping. Pride they are accomplishing a task well. And proud they are needed.

Sources:

Gardening Jobs for Toddlers and Preschoolers

These gardening chores your toddlers and preschoolers do will help get them outside and get them involved in growing fruits and vegetables.

I grew up in the country.

I’m talking about fields on 3 sides of my house and woods on the other. Since we live in the South my family farms cotton, peanuts, corn, and other things throughout the year.

I’ve always loved being outside and never more now that I’m a mother with small kids.

I am also the type of woman who expects too much of others. I’ve been known to expect all my kids to help me with tasks that aren’t age appropriate.

My husband and mom give me the side eye often.

However, instead of saving all projects for a few years from now when the kids are older, I’ve learned to organize and situate projects into tasks the kids can actually do.

Want to get your kids involved outdoors in the garden? Here are some gardening tasks that even toddlers and preschoolers can do.

Then, when they are not underfoot, I can do the rest. This is how we do gardening. We work in blocks when they are up and at ’em, then I work like a busy bee when they are all sleeping.

Chores toddlers and preschoolers can do in the garden

While you may not let your preschooler prune your rose bush, there are things they can do well.

Plant | My kids have helped plant seeds, seed pods, and seedlings. They are well able to dig in the dirt and as long as they are of the age to follow instructions this is something they can do that will help them feel accomplished.
Water | Obviously watering is a fun task for small children. While I love letting mine fill up the water cans, I am sure they don’t flood plants. If you have a hose with a nozzle this will work well, but be sure to explain to your kids some plants (like tomatoes) want water on the roots, not on the leaves.

Weed | A friend of mine has her children weeding her garden on their own by age 3. I am not so brave! That said, depending on whether there was a raised bed or in the ground. Sometimes if I only have raised beds, weeding isn’t an issue. However, I have shown the kids very carefully where weeds are and they are pretty good at this.
Harvest | Kids love picking fruit. Mine will pick blueberries every day until there are no more. If you show your child how to pick the particular fruit, veggie, or herb you want they will become a good little helper. And a good little eater as well 😉

Our gardening project with seed pods

I was so excited when Spring weather came our way so we could begin planting the fruits and veggies we love to eat during the summer.

We have a fairly large area on one end of our yard that we designated the “garden.”

I decided what I wanted to plant and where | I keep the veggies and fruit in the garden at the other end of the yard, and the herbs by our door so I can step outside and easily access them during cooking.
I gathered supplies | My kids love carrying shovels and watering cans. This is half the fun for them! We either carry it all up to the garden or put stuff in the back of the truck and drive it there, if we have a lot of tools.
I explained the process | With the Gro-ables, we chose which seeds we wanted to plant, then we loosened the dirt in those pots. We chose to plant our tomatoes and peppers in pots and the cucumbers in the potting mix. The kids stuck their hands deep down in the dirt and made a place to put the seed pods. My 5, 3, and 2-year-olds did this.

We took off the tops | With the Gro-ables, you just peel off the top of the seed pod, which also has the instructions, and you are left with the pod, dirt, and seeds.
Put the seeds in the loosened potting mix | The kids each took a few pods and put them into the they had previously loosened. The pod went easily into our and then when it was level with the top of the dirt it was ready for water.
Water every day | Clearly, watering the seeds and plants is the kids’ favorite part. We watered them thoroughly the first day and have continued to do so since then. It has become a routine part of our day (often with their Nana) we all look forward to.

Read: Quiet time (Rest time) for Toddlers: All You Need to Know

Starting and maintaining a garden can be a project you do with your little children. You don’t have to plant acres to reap the benefits, and gardening itself does not have to be so complicated the kids can’t join in.

Cleaning the House with a Toddler is Like…

I asked and moms delivered. I know you want to Keep a Tidy House with Small Children, but here’s why it’s hard! Here is what cleaning the house with a toddler is like…

We all know that cleaning the house is just something that must be done. Mostly because toddlers make such a huge mess ALL. DAY. LONG.

And…as with all moms, my day is full and busy… There’s always something to be done.

The truth is: I want my kids to help. I don’t want them to be lazy pre-teen children who don’t know how to clean.

So… I started them early. I believe that we must teach them to be enthusiastic about cleaning when they are young.

There are things Even My 2 and 3 Year Old Children can do to help. And I let them! I am a Tired Mom, after all.

However, that doesn’t mean letting them help is easy or even necessarily productive. The other day I asked the readers on my Facebook Page the following question, and between them and me… these are the answers.

Read These While You’re At It

4 Reasons It’s Hard for Moms To Teach Their Kids To Clean

Moms… Quit Being a Servant, Be a CEO

A Doable Weekly Cleaning Schedule For Busy Moms

Big List of Chores 2 & 3 Year-Olds Can Do On Their Own

Cleaning the house with a toddler is like…

First of all…a stealthy ninja. Oh, my goodness. Love it!

And she’s right. Kids will migrate to where its clean and looks more fun to play… the clean stuff looks cool.

Now… no more sword fighting with the swiller.

Secondly, the job that never ends. This couldn’t be more true. Anyone with toddlers can tell ya’…

Now that song is stuck in my heard. I think I’m going to sing it next time I’m picking up the same sock off the floor for the one millionth time that day.

What else is cleaning the house with a toddler like? Love these:

Quick sand. Yep. Been there and felt that! Lord, please help me to come out with some sanity left!

One friend said it this way: It’s like shoveling snow in a blizzard.

Or it’s like…

Yes, a tornado that involves food and clothes, and toys… oh my! The triple whammy– I often say “what in the world is this doing here?” or “how did this get in the…?”

A toddler when it comes to cleaning house… do they get it?

One mom said that it’s like becoming a broken record, you will have to ask them repetitively in order to get your toddler to help you.

Another said it this way:

I love this one: Cleaning house with a toddler is like wishing, I had octopus arms!! And an extra washer and dryer!!

Now, ain’t that that truth! How much easier would it be to clean with 8 arms!

That’s a word picture for sure. A blender without a lid on spills and splats onto everything. In other words, there is no surface untouched.

Consequently, nothing is safe or clean or sacred… it’s all touched by the tornado toddler. Yep!

I’ve been there for sure. Have I already done that? Wait… I though I just picked that up. Haha! And I wonder sometimes If I’m loosing it…

Nope, just my toddler coming right behind me and undoing my tiding. Good times. 😉

Here are some more good ones: Cleaning house with a toddler is like…

trying to go down an escalator.
straightening your hair with curlers in humidity!
flipping a coin. Sometimes you get what you called and other times not.
trying to clean a landfill.
bad for my patience level.
smashing your head against a brick wall.
having a mini-assistant who keeps you laughing. 🙂

So, in short, cleaning the house with a toddler is like investing. You get nothing now and just hope for the best! Do you have any to add?

Read These While You’re At It

Things large families need in their kitchen

What happens in a bathroom with toddlers

How To Rock Dinnertime With Small Children Managing children close together in age throughout the day

Sources:

Chores

Getting started with chores is quick – perfection takes years

An age timeline

⭐Babies

⭐Pre-toddlers

⭐Toddlers

⭐Preschoolers

⭐Elementary aged kids and up

It went downhill from there.

Then I came back in the room…

It’s Hard Teaching Kids To Clean… And What To Do

1. We Make It Hard For Kids Logistically

2. Moms Can Be Perfectionists

50+ Life Skills (By Age!)

3. We Clean While They’re Gone or Sleeping

4. We Lose Sight Of The End Goal

Putting in the hard work of teaching pays off

The Importance Of Life Skills

First, Essential Skills Everyone Needs To Know

Life Skills For Toddlers

Life Skills For Preschoolers

Life Skills For Kids (Early Elementary And Up)

50+ Life Skills (By Age!)

Teaching Social Skills

Life Management Skills

Checklist (Printable By Age)

50+ Life Skills (By Age!)

Keys to getting toddler and preschooler participation in chore time

50+ Life Skills (By Age!)

Chores toddlers and preschoolers can actually do well

More Chores For Toddlers And Preschoolers

How to “enforce” chores

Create Logical Order In Your Daily Routine

Teach, teach, teach then stand back

Kindness and No Nonsense

Give it Time And Carry On Consistently

50+ Life Skills (By Age!)

Chores toddlers and preschoolers can do in the garden

Our gardening project with seed pods

50+ Life Skills (By Age!)

Cleaning the house with a toddler is like…

What else is cleaning the house with a toddler like? Love these:

A toddler when it comes to cleaning house… do they get it?

Here are some more good ones: Cleaning house with a toddler is like…

50+ Life Skills (By Age!)