While I was doing the laundry last night, my darling daughter K was helping me load the dirty clothes in the washer. “Mommy, I want to help you,” she said. So I let her pour the laundry detergent into the washer and the fabric softener in the dispenser. K wanted to put the wet clothes in the dryer so I let her put the small ones in there, too. She wanted to do the controls so I guided her through the control buttons on the dryer. She was very happy that she did all that. She said, “I’m a grown up girl now, mommy.” K’s so proud of herself.
This is to share with y’all that toddlers can be a great help in your household. With proper guidance and supervision, your toddlers can do the job you assigned to them without a hassle. Though your work sometimes gets more complicated, yet teaching them the concept of responsibility is great help to them especially if they are very willing to learn. In the long run, they will offer help to you. Do not refuse. You are also helping your toddlers gain their self-esteem and self-worth.
But don’t overdo it. Don’t let your toddlers do the hard work. What I mean is that, let your kids do the age appropriate household chores. A guideline of age appropriate household jobs for kids are listed at http://www.freeprintablebehaviorcharts.com/chore_list.htm.
We don’t have to expect that they work has to be perfect. Remember we are guiding them and supervising them, too. Praising our little ones for helping us makes them proud. “Well done, honey. Thank you for helping,” makes their day.
