Teach age-appropriate chores to your children
Boys and girls need these skills
Raising a slob of a child is a fear that every parent has.
This is where allocating chores to your child from a young age comes in.
That said, most parents are often stuck on what appropriate chores are versus what is considered manual labour.
Educational psychologist Lynne Muller says that parents also need to understand the importance of allocating chores at a young age.
“Parents who do not allocate chores to their kids … are actually doing more harm than good. Chores teach responsibility and they help the child to grow. They also teach the importance of hard work,” Muller says.
“Children who learn from a young age to work hard will learn a lifelong lesson of working hard at their jobs and even on their marriages.”
Muller also emphasises that parents need to have a clear distinction between chores and daily responsibilities.
“Daily responsibilities are things that a child must get accustomed to doing every day. They go hand-in-hand with decorum and being a proper human being. These include: Making their bed; ● Brushing their teeth;
● Polishing school shoes;
● Cleaning their room;
● Putting dirty clothes into
● the washing basket; and Putting dishes in the sink.
● “Chores, on the other hand, are things that your child will have to do above and beyond their daily responsibilities,” says Muller.
“Chores are also not necessarily done on a daily basis.
‘ ‘ Chores teach responsibility and they help a child to grow
You may want to pace yourself as a parent. Save the bulk of the chores for weekends and school holidays,” advises M uller.
The following are Muller’s recommendations:
Three- to four-year-olds
Allocate them one chore, and keep the workload very light. These can be:
● Dusting with a rag;
● Cleaning under their bed;
● Putting away their toys
● after a play date.
Five- to six-year-olds
Allocate two chores, and you can choose between:
● Feeding the family pets;
● Cleaning the indoor bin;
● Watering any household
● and outside plants; Sweeping the floors; or
● Raking the leaves.
Seven- to 10-year-olds
They can do four or more chores. Choose between:
Cleaning the bathroom,
● the basin and the bath;
Taking the outside bin to
● the gate and bringing it back into the yard;
Doing the dishes;
●
Moving the furniture and
● cleaning in between; and
Scrubbing the toilet clean. ●
Muller advises that parents need to have incentives in place for children who do their chores timely. Be careful of bribing them to do chores though, she says.