I decided a couple of months ago that it was time to give Mia some chores around the house. After putting it out there on Facebook, I realized that majority of my readers already had their young kids doing chores and I was way behind! I knew we needed to start teaching her some responsibility (and of course, I could use some help around the house, too), and I was hoping that chores would help her gain confidence in her abilities and even help out with some behavioral issues.
I recently began reading Parenting With Love And Logic
So, I combined some ideas from posts that I had found on Pinterest, made up my own list of chores I knew she could handle, and used an article I found in Family Fun magazine to create this simple chore chart for her to use daily.
Each day, she must complete the four tasks on her chore chart before she can watch a TV show. They are:
- Brush your teeth
- Make your bed
- Pick up your room (clothes in hamper, toys in baskets, books on shelf – one of the posts I read said to be specific with 3-year-olds so they know exactly what is expected of them)
- Sweep the floor under the dining room table (she only needs to do this once a day, even though it needs to be done 3 times after every meal thanks to my messy eaters)
Once she completes each task, she flips up the tab on the chart and it reads “done.”
The chart was really easy to make. For instructions, see below.
Chore “Quick Pick” List
In addition to her daily chores, she has a chore “quick pick” list. Once she has watched her TV show for the day, she may earn another one by doing two more chores on the list (2 chores also equals 15-20 minutes of iPad time if she would rather play a game). This list is really just for me since she can’t read, so that I can have a reminder of her options. I can give her a couple of options or just pick for her, and some of them are based on jobs that are only necessary once in a while (i.e. folding laundry).
The chore “quick pick” list includes:
- Swiffer 1st level of the house
- Gather laundry from kid’s rooms and throw down stairs
- Fold towels
- Pick up toys in basement
- Pick up toys in living room
- Clean bathroom (mirror, sink & toilet – with help)
- Wipe down cupboards, oven & dishwasher
- Dust living room
- Sort clean laundry (Mia – Lincoln – Mom & Dad)
- Match socks in clean laundry
- Clean all doorknobs
- Wipe baseboards on one level
- Clean upstairs bathroom (mirror, sink & toilet – with help)
You might be surprised at how well a 3-year-old can do some of these tasks. She needs help cleaning the bathrooms (I lift her up on the sink to clean the mirror and assist her with scrubbing the toilet), but most of the other tasks she can do on her own. They aren’t done perfectly, but they are better than if they hadn’t been done at all! Her favorite task thus far is gathering the laundry from her room and Lincoln’s and getting to chuck it down the stairs. She laughed hysterically when I told her it was ok, and it saved me from having to go upstairs to collect it. Win! I am also finding that purchasing those cleaning wipes is a huge help for all her cleaning tasks. I just prefer to buy the chemical-free ones from Seventh Generation or Method since she is handling them.
I am sure she is just excited at the new responsibility, but so far we haven’t received any resistance to these chores. In fact, 3 days in a row she made her bed and picked up her room right when she got up at 6 a.m. – a parent’s dream! She seems to take pride in completing her tasks and already understands that she must do something to earn TV time. She even picked up all the books on her own yesterday and told me that she had done it to earn another show. I was so proud!
I am SO happy that I started her on this now. It’s already helping me keep our 3-story home a bit cleaner (if ever so slightly) and I love seeing her grow and mature from working hard and contributing to the household. She loves feeling like a “big girl” after accomplishing something she never has before.
If you would like to make your own chore chart, here’s how:
DIY Flip-Up Chore Chart for Kids
Materials:
- 1 file folder (printed folders are more fun, I found mine in the $1 section at Target)
- Round stickers (again, mine are from the $1 section)
- Magnets (I didn’t even buy these, just cut up one of the realtor ones that are often left on your doorstep and peeled off the printed portion)
Instructions:
- Cut your file folder so it measures 11.5″ x 6″
- Now cut the front flap to be 1″ shorter than the back.
- Cut the front flap into 4 even sections (2 7/8″ each).
- Print out clipart that illustrates the chores you wish to include (I found most of mine on clipart.com or by using Google Image Search). Keep the size to around 2″ x 2″.
- Print out words to accompany the clipart.
- Paste your clipart on the back side of the folder, centering it where the flap will cover.
- Paste your words on the inside of the front flap.
- Cut two magnet strips per flap (8 total) and paste in place (if you reuse a marketing magnet like myself, the magnet is usually sticky enough after you peel off the printed picture that you can just stick it right on the folder).
- Put your round stickers on the front/printed side of the flaps and write, stamp or paste the word “done.”
- I hung my chore chart on the wall using poster Command strips.
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