Celebrating 30 Year of Chaos To Order
monica
Have you treated you kids to a wonderful trip or some super fun activities during their spring break? Now are you home faced with a mountain of chores and unpacking feeling overwhelmed? Why not enlist in the services of your children? Sometimes in the hurry of getting things done we opt to do it all ourselves because it’s faster and easier. In truth, it’s better to assume your kids are part of the team. When they are younger, they want to help because it’s fun, as they get older, that desire goes away, but they are more capable of helping out. Here are some simple chores that most kids (age appropriately) should be able to help out with:
- Vacuuming
- Cleaning baseboards and windowsills
- Weeding and raking
- Dusting
- Sweeping outside and in the garage
- Taking out garbage
What other chores do you have kids help out with?
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I call on my 7 -year old daughter when I need this tiny but dreading task done. –The little pieces of “stuff” that end up on the floor! Tiny shreds of paper that have fallen next to the baseboards and carpet, beads that her brother got a hold of and made a Hansel & Gretel trail with and ALL the toys and crafts that somehow….end up everywhere but where they should. I have always tried to look right back up from the floor when I see all these little tid-bits. I think to myself “Ah! I need to pick these little things up!” but even though it is so quick to do…it stresses me the core because of everything else that is cluttered or chaotic! So, I call my daughter in and ask her to grab a empty coffee can and pick up everything little tiny thing that is on the floor that doesn’t belong. She gets excited as has a “treasure hunt” haha. I also have gotten her to help find several missing puzzle pieces from my two children. I told her for every piece she finds, she get’s a quarter. She was elated! I counted every puzzle that I wanted the pieces to and put them in a ziploc bag, then labeled them with the number and circled it. We went on a hunt and every piece she found she yelled out “I FOUND ANOTHER ONE MOMMY!LOOK! HOW MANY IS THAT NOW? HOW MANY DO WE HAVE LEFT?! ” I’d then praise her and then put it with the matching puzzle bag and mark the new number. Then I would put a tally mark on a separate piece of paper for each piece she found. Low and behold-we found EVERY puzzle piece we needed (14 missing pieces)to complete 3 kid-size puzzles that had missing pieces for a couple of years now! It took us 15 minutes one night and about 15 minutes the next day. She felt so important and proud. She and I had a blast doing it. She got a reward. For helping with extra chores. It was a fun time together that didn’t seem like work.
Good for you! These are great ways to get your kids to help out and make it fun! Keep up the good work and motivation for your daughter!