Children and Chores:

Taking pride in themselves, learning a sense of responsibility and learning how to contribute to a community are all attributes your children will gain when they participate in sweeping, mopping and doing dishes.

A Kansas City-area early childhood educator and mother of two, Michelle uses jobs within her classroom to build self-esteem, teach task completion, instill responsibility and help children understand how to be a positive part of their community. She also takes her understanding of chores and child development home to her own children.

“My kids (ages 10 and 6) have been helping around the house since they were toddlers.  Because of this, my children view themselves as important contributors to our family by being a part of keeping the house put together and having things within our home that they are solely responsible for completing, such as sorting laundry, taking out the trash and helping with the vacuuming.”

Michelle embraces the positive effects that sharing responsibilities within the home will have on her children. “I feel that chores will help my children to be self-sufficient, competent, autonomous, good with time management skills and altogether more responsible adults.”

Another Kansas City area mother, Breanna Dykes, agrees, “My son is 4 1/2 years old and contributes to our home by doing basic chores. He seems to get a great deal of pride out of completing his tasks.” Dykes’ son lends a hand by helping to make his bed, putting his toys away in the right places and dusting the floor boards.

You can help younger children become more independent in their chores by creating picture to-do lists.  Better yet, allow your child to join in on creating his list just the way he likes it to help him have a sense of ownership of his tasks.

“We made it fun for him by building him a picture chart of his to-do list, and he gets to check off his list as he completes the different tasks. He really loves to check a task off and show us his great work,” Dykes says. “He enjoys it so much at this age that he has now begun to ask to help me or my husband when are doing something around the house.”

While very young children generally find chores to be novel and exciting, they may begin to find the work less desirable as they mature. “They are kids, so at times they do grumble and complain, but for the most part, they complete their chores willingly,” says Michelle.

Because her children have been involved in helping around the house since they were toddlers, she says they now know what to expect and don’t see their chores as unfair expectations.

Oftentimes, chores and to-do lists get a bad rap, but parents can cast them in a positive light with rewards and praise. “We give our son a lot of positive praise, both while he is completing a task, as well as after he has completed it,” says Dykes.

Cash for chores can also be a useful motivator, in addition to helping children understand the value of money. “More recently, he has gotten small amounts of money for the chores that he does, which makes him very excited” says Dykes. She goes on to note that her son enjoys letting others know he bought a toy all on his own with money he worked hard to earn.

With your trust, support and guidance, your child can become a valuable contributor to the household while learning to be responsible and independent. 

Karah Chapman, is an area school psychologist for whom window washing was a favorite chore.