Age Appropriate Chores for Your Kids
It takes a lot of work to run a home! And remembering that one goal of parenting is to raise competent, responsible, working adults, the first work place for all of us
should be the home. The family home is the place to begin learning WORK ETHIC, along with responsibility, forethought, persistence, and the ability to take corrective feedback. But for these skills to be learned, home-care tasks need to be broken down, assigned, supervised, and rewarded by parents.
Rule #8 of parenting…. Everybody gets a Job
I remember meeting a particularly skilled and wise family. The Clark Family assigned jobs to every member, including their youngest. One of the 2-3 year-old children had the job each night of removing the sock-fuzz from between the baby’s toes. In our family, one of the first jobs was sweeping underneath furniture and wiping off the legs of the kitchen table. With all that milk splatter, it looked like a ghost crime scene down there!
One important key, is that if you assign a kid a job, make sure they have access to the tools they’ll need to complete the job. Put kids’ cups within reach. Store the milk lower in the fridge. Make 
the dustbroom and hand vacuum accessible. Make a non-toxic cleaner that you feel safe with the kids using. If you give them a task, make the tools accessible.
Remember this pattern when teaching a new task, routine, or chore (aka Life Skills):
- Show them how to do the task
- Do the task with them
- Watch them do the task, and provide feedback
- Step back, let them do the task, and provide oversight
*#4 is often the hardest for parents. Stepping back and letting the kids be responsible often forces parents to deal with their perfectionistic tendencies or insecurity issues. Watch out!
Teaching your kids LIFE SKILLS is hard, in part, because we’re not sure what skills to teach, and when to teach them. Thankfully, Lindsay Hutton, a journalist and editor for FamilyEducation.com has provided a lists of age-appropriate skills, that frankly will shock many of todays’ over-involved parents.
♠What LIFE SKILLS could your kids be practicing?
For more information see How to Raise an Adult (particularly Chapters 13 & 14) by Julie Lythcott-Haims.
