It’s no secret that at a certain stage, your toddler will start exerting their independence and might even throw a fit if you insist on helping them. Now, I’m no expert by any means but our experts at Parents.com says that between 18 to 24 months, they start showing interest in what mommy or daddy does so it might even seem like they are shadowing us when we go about doing our household chores…
When we first started getting Ryan to help with chores, I had a few friends who exclaimed that Ryan was too young, that it is dangerous and way too messy. And now, I don’t disagree with all the above 3 claims but only if you let it to be. Now, if I gave Ryan a super difficult chore expecting perfection, he would be too young for it. And seriously, I don’t even do chores perfectly myself & I am in my forties LOL….
But the whole intention at that stage was really for Ryan to have fun & for us to have fun together. And really, them doing chores mostly would entail us parents helping them so yes, that means more work for us so my tip is to keep the chores simple and easy so it would mean less work for ourselves.
While there are endless debates about it, I think there are so many benefits of getting toddlers to help with chores and this is my own personal feelings and experiences.
- Teaches them a sense of responsibility/accountability & hopefully work ethics in the future
- Helps with mastering their motor skills
- Encourages them with their curiosity by not exclaiming “NO” every time they want to help because believe me, they will get to a stage where they prefer to do anything else but help lol
- Great family bonding activity by letting them be involved
Before turning 18 month old, some simple chores Ryan did include:
- Putting his toys away
- Putting clothes in laundry basket
- Throwing trash into garbage bin
- Bringing something to you
- Helping to push the highchair away
- Helping daddy carry & move the laundry basket
After he turned 18 month old, the sky’s the limit… okay just kidding but now he can do the above & more:
- Putting his clean clothes away
- Sweeping the floor with a broom
- Watering the plants & the garden
- Cleaning up tiny messes with kitchen towel
- Carrying his own lunch bag
- Putting his shoes & jacket away when he gets home
- Dusting
The list is non exhaustive but you get the drift.
And I’m by no means the perfect mom who lets Ryan helps every time he wants to. Despite my intentions, there are many times when I am busy trying to get shit done and when he express interest in helping, I let out a loud “NO” because it be too messy, because I really need to get dinner ready, because I really need to get this and that done ASAP & because THIS MOMMY IS IN A RUSH. Many times, i tell my hubby I feel like a horrible mom because I can’t count the number of times that I have shouted out “NO” to Ryan during the day. But at the end of the day, I am also human and I know I’m a good mom.
Not a Perfect Mom. Definitely a Lazy Mom. But for sure a Good Mom 🙂
Have a great weekend everyone and would love to hear your experiences of chores for your children 🙂
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