Let your toddler help with the daily chores. He or she will love it.
Every toddler should be taught to do chores as soon as he or she is old enough to walk, while at the same time being able to carry something. Of course, it requires an enormous amount of patience and LOTS of discipline (mom and dad are the ones that need to be disciplined).
I of course, was not very disciplined, and it never occurred to me to let my toddler help with the daily chores when they were only a little over a year old. As a result, when they grew somewhat older, we had a battle of wills when it came to putting toys away or helping around the house with things that they were perfectly capable of doing.
It also meant that by the time they were teenagers, as much as I loved them, they were untidy little horrors, and I only had myself to blame!
No doubt in your house, every time your little one accomplishes something (like that first step) every one applauds and tells the proud toddler how clever he or she is. Why should you not do the same thing when he puts a toy away?
Small children are great imitators.
That is how they learn. It is however, not only physical things that they learn. They also learn responsibility and they learn how to be disciplined. They learn that keeping the home clean and tidy can be fun, but only if their parents are prepared to teach them.
A fifteen month old is perfectly able of “wearing” a pair of cotton socks on each hand dampened with a mixture of water, vinegar and dishwashing liquid (absolutely no chemicals) and helping to clean those parts of the windows that he or she can reach, while Mom does the rest, preferable while dancing around and belting out her toddlers favorite song or nursery rhyme!
Of course, it can all get quite messy at times, but that is the fun of it, then your toddler needs to help wipe off the floor, so he or she learns (slowly) that it is quite possible to do one job without causing a huge mess and creating another.
Simply daily chores are not beyond the capabilities of a toddler. Collecting small bits and pieces of garbage around the house and being guided to put the stuff in the garbage can, with lots of applause, is well within their abilities. Of course, once they grasp the concept, everything in site goes in the bin, so moms needs to make sure that the household or car keys are not left where her about-to-be-super-tidy toddler can get at them.
Tidying away toys before supper time can also be made fun by playing a “find a toy for the box” game. You have to show him how several times, but he will soon get the hang of it, as he runs to beat you at grabbing a toy to throw it in the box with lots of encouragement and applause.
My seventeen month old grandson also loves to help collect dirty clothes to be placed in the washing basket and literally swells up with pride when told what a good boy he is. After a diaper change, he even collects the offending disposable (in a plastic bag) and puts that in the garbage bin as well. He also puts the laundry into the tumble dryer as his mom hands him the items from the washer
Your toddler, can help unpack groceries from the car – give him one small unbreakable item to carry into the house – and he can help pack certain items away with guidance and a little help. Of course you might have to lift both him and the item to be packed, so that he can access the right spot.
Yes, it can be time consuming and even exhausting, because it would be so much quicker to do it by yourself, but that look of pride, and that beaming smile on a grubby face after he has “helped” water the potted plants outside the front door, are truly the greatest of rewards for a tired mom or dad.
Of course, the biggest no-no is to shout at your little one in frustration when he causes a mess in his earnest desire to both imitate and help the people he truly loves most in the world. As irritated as you may be, he quite often knows that he hasn’t got it completely right. And you will see it in that small, sad, and perhaps confused smile as he looks to you for encouragement that he is not sure that he is going to get.
When your toddler gets it wrong, kneel down beside him, give him a big cuddle, (after all a fifteen or sixteen month old toddler doesn’t communicate that well), and then carefully help and show him how to fix the mess and his self esteem will be restored in no time.
Do make sure, that if your toddler has older siblings, you don’t allow them to criticize the efforts of your tiny helper.
There are many, many little things that you can let your toddler help with, including carrying his plastic dishes to or from the dining room table, “folding” the tea towels while you fold the rest of the washing, wipe spilled water off the floor with a paper towel.
Remember doing chores, teaches your child about responsibility, commitment and pride in a job well done. It teaches respect for oneself and for others, as well as their belongings. They learn to understand what teamwork is, after all, everybody has to do their share of the chores, and they begin to understand the concept of sharing.
The responsibility of helping your child to grow into a mature and caring adult, starts with you, the parent, being disciplined enough to guide and teach your child how to act responsibly through providing age appropriate chores, helping him to do the actual chores in a fun and lighthearted manner and of course never showing resentment at your own chores or your toddlers imperfect efforts, because your toddler WILL imitate you.
It is time to let your toddler help with the daily chores.
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