15+ Chores Your Toddler CAN Do
Have you been wondering what kind of chores your toddler can do? You aren’t alone in that! Here is a list of chores that your toddler or preschooler CAN do!
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A few weeks ago Seth and I made these chores cards to help our days flow a little better and to make sure that we were getting things done that need to be done. We have used them almost every day since then and our days do flow better.
In fact, since Seth now has a “chore” card for school he has finished three little workbooks and has started two more. He loves doing as many pages as possible, I’m really hoping that love of learning stays with my boy into his adulthood. I try to limit how much school he does each day, just because I don’t want him to get burned out on it.
I have to admit that when I started the chore cards I didn’t really have any good ideas for what chores Seth should have. Most of the ones that I did end up putting on his cards were things that he normally does every day, or almost every day. I will be adding more to his set for daily use, and some that he can earn money by doing. {If you read our post about making the cards you will remember that some cards were for daily use and others for when mom decided they needed to be done, usually one extra thing every day.}
Here is a list of chores that you can use to make your chore cards with your toddlers and preschoolers. I won’t separate them by age because you know what your child is capable of doing. 🙂
Chores Your Toddler Can Do:
*sweep with a broom
*vacuum
*dust- have fun and use those socks that are missing their partner {or any sock really}, place the sock on your littles’ hand and let them dust away.
*set the table
*clear the table
*straighten shoes
*make bed
*pick up toys
*”wash” dishes- this will definitely need momma’s oversight and help
*dry dishes- maybe not with your fine china 🙂
*wipe off the table
*put away groceries
*help make dinner
*put away laundry
*match socks
*scrub the tub- I’ll be sharing soon how your toddler or preschooler can clean the tub without harmful chemicals. Your tub will be cleaner and your littles will have fun!
*help load the dishwasher
*put silverware away
*take the garbage out
Why give your toddler or preschooler chores?
- Chores help build character in your child. Faithfulness and responsibility are lessons learned from having daily chores.
- Chores will help your child learn that everyone needs to work together to keep the home running smoothly.
- Chores can be ways for your child to earn money, which means you can then teach them economics and how to handle their money through tithe/savings/spending.
- Chores can build your child’s self-esteem. Your child will learn that they can do things if they put their mind to it.
- Chores can help your child to learn problem solving. If I get out all the toys at once I’ll have to spend a lot of time cleaning them up, but if I get out just a few things and then put them away before getting something new out it won’t take as long to clean my room. {Seth hasn’t put this together yet, but I’m hoping he will soon.}
- Chores are a part of life. By giving your child daily responsibilities at an early age you are preparing them to leave your nest the best person they can be; one who does not shrink from hard work but accepts it as a part of life.
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This is fantastic! My 18-month old throws trash away (like, actually in the trash can) and “sweeps the floor” (she spreads out the dirt with her toy broom) and “puts away the groceries” (she makes towers out of cans and vegetables).
That’s awesome! And good signs that she might be ready to help with more. 🙂 My boys loved helping at that age as long as I make the chore fun.
These are great ideas! Gonna share on my FB page! 😄
Thanks so much for sharing!! 🙂
These ideas are great. I totally agree that it is important for young children to have chores. It teaches responsibility. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome! My boys don’t do all of these but we’re slowly working on adding more chores into our routine.
I love these ideas and also love the chore cards. I am going to make those with Isaiah and Eloise. We need some structure to what chores they do instead of random things here or there. It’s SO much easier to do chores myself, but SO good for my kids to learn to help with them. =)
Hope you guys have fun Amber!!! It is easier to do most of these things myself. I can’t wait til Seth is old enough to clean the toilet lol! That will be wonderous!
Love all 15 ideas! I need to make my kids do more. I am trying!
It can be so much easier to do things ourselves that we don’t even think about asking for help, can’t it?
I like this, certainly something I’d do with my almost-4-year-old. Question: what do you actually do with the cards? Do you keep them somewhere in a pile and then take one out and put it up somewhere while he does the chore?
I usually just keep them in a pile on our table. Most mornings I let Seth choose the order he wants to do them in. I pick one or two of the “momma’s choice” cards for him to do throughout the day.
When he is done we make a “complete/done” pile.
I just leave them on the table. Most mornings I let Seth choose which order he wants to do his daily chores and then I choose one or two “momma’s choice” cards for him to do throughout the day. We make a new pile for the completed cards.
Nicky loves helping me in the kitchen although I normally have to re-do anything he does! I think he just likes being part of the task, involved.
Yep. And as long as you keep it fun he will want to help as much as you let him. 🙂 I love how naturally helpful littles are at that age.
Scrub the tub, I like that since us big folk have to get down on our knees and it is not so much fun. Little ones would be closer to it!
Thanks for this great post
Great list! My daughter started putting her own laundry in the hamper at 8 months, wiping up spills before she could walk, putting away her toys as soon as she could walk, and now she loves to sweep with her little broom (though it’s not very productive sweeping 🙂 ). I completely agree that teaching responsibility from an early age helps to build self-esteem!
Wow! You are on tol of it with her! I’ve found my boys like to help more if I make their chores fun, by having a race or picking things up by color.