Teaching your kid to do domestic chores will not only lighten your load—it will teach them essential skills that they will use for the rest of their life. While older children should feel confident at completing most of the tasks in the home, if your child is younger, here are three key tasks to teach them now.
Picking Up Laundry
Rather than waiting for you to pick the clothes from their floor, teach your kid to use a laundry basket. By doing so, you will help them to understand that the washing doesn’t magically do itself, so when they’re older you can start introducing other tasks such as using the washer and dryer.
Setting and Clearing the Table
It’s important that your children don’t just turn up to the table when dinner’s ready and then leave immediately once they’re done. Ask them to help you by laying the table, and then at the end of the meal ask them to at least clear their own plate. This will help them to appreciate the work that goes into a home-cooked meal, and will also emphasize the social aspects of eating (and clearing) together.
Managing Their School Bag
Perhaps not strictly a domestic task, one of the best ways you can help your kid prepare for later life is by showing them how to manage their own school bag and then expecting them to stay on top of it. While this doesn’t mean you expect them to make and pack their own lunch every day, they should remember to empty the bag each day (especially if there is half-eaten food or wrappers in there), pack their essential stationery, and know where the bag is (too many children go home from school each day and leave their bag at school overnight).