What are Appropriate Chores for Toddlers?

Children love to help out around the house from an early age. There are many chores that are suitable for toddlers to complete with the help of an adult. By allowing your child to help with housework you can teach them the importance of picking up their toys and keeping the home clean. It is also a great way to spend quality time with your child!

All of my children at one time or another have helped me to dust the furniture in our house. Dusting is a great chore for a toddler to do especially because they feel important when they are asked to help with housework. My youngest son loves to help me dust. Every time I get my dusting supplies ready he runs to the cabinet to get his towel to help!

If you use dust sprays such as pledge make sure to let your child know that it is only for mommy to spray and they are not allowed to apply it to the furniture. They are only able to help dust it up. It is important to keep safety in mind because many household cleaners are hazardous if not used properly.

My children loved to vacuum the floor for some strange reason. It is impossible for them to run the large vacuum but the small vacuum such as the dirt devil or the small rechargeable ones are perfect for children their size.

My two youngest sons are responsible for vacuuming our kitchen floor once a week as one of their weekly chores. We have a dirt devil vacuum that is easy for them to use because it is light weight and easy to move around.

A great chore for toddlers to do on their own is to put their toys away when they are done playing with them. This is a chore that can be just for them to do because it only consists of them picking up their own things. You do not have to worry about cleaning products or anything else that may be harmful for them to do unsupervised. It also teaches them to take care of their belongings.

It is important to have a designated clean up routine such as; picking up before bed or putting one thing away before getting out another to play with. By being consistent with you toy pick up routine it will become more of a habit for you toddler which will help reduce the mess of toys in your home.

You can have your toddler help you to put away the groceries after a trip to the store. My son loves to help carry the groceries into the house from the van. I always give him the lightest bags to carry such as the bags with bread or with a few small items in it. Once we have all the bags in the house he helps to put away the groceries in the cabinet and the refrigerator.

Make sure that your child is putting away groceries in areas that he/she can reach safely and make sure that they are not handling any heavy or glass items that they may get hurt with.