I never set out to give my toddlers chores to do. You might be

thinking, “That’s too young! Toddlers can’t do chores!” That’s

what I thought too, that is until I was constantly tripping over

my boys while trying to do my own household chores.

Let’s face it, toddlers want to help mom, even when mom doesn’t

want or need help. But what better way to teach your toddlers to

do chores than letting them help mom?

The number of chores you give your child to do will depend on

your child. Some kids want to help more than others. At this

age, the important thing is to teach them to clean up after

themselves, not to try to get them to clean the entire house.

One of my sons is not interested in helping me pick up toys. He

helps me for a minute then moves on to something else. However,

he loves helping me with laundry and unloading the dishwasher.

My other son has to have everything around him arranged in a

certain way. When we pick up his toys he makes sure everything

is picked up and in its place. One day when we were picking up

the family room he went into his bedroom and picked up the entire

room. When we found him in there his room was spotless, and he’s

not even 2 years old!

Besides picking up toys off the floor at the end of every day, I

don’t require my boys to do certain chores, except as they want

to help me. There are, however, a couple of chores they

especially enjoy.

I realized my boys were old enough to help with the laundry when

they started taking their clothes out of the dryer and running

into their room to put them into their drawers! So now I let

them put their own clothes away, and don’t worry about what

drawers they put them in. The important thing is that they are

helping and putting their own laundry away. They also enjoy

putting their clothes into the washing machine. I take turns

picking each child up so they can drop some clothing into the

machine.

I had a terrible time trying to keep my toddlers out of my

dishwasher until I realized they just wanted to help take dishes

out of it. For awhile they handed me silverware to put away (I

take all of the sharp knives out first), then they decided that

they wanted to put the silverware into the drawer. They can’t

even see into the drawer, but they drop it over the edge, into

the drawer, then I put the silverware where it belongs.

I’ve had a lot of fun letting my toddler boys help with household

chores. They don’t see chores as work, they think they are

hanging out with and helping mom, which is what is important to

them, and as they get older they will learn that household chores

are a part of family life.