Dish washing: two words that adults moan & groan about yet preschoolers find such fun in completing the task.
Big E will be so focused and I do enjoy watching him concentrate, develop hand eye coordination, pay attention to the little details, doing things in order and strengthening his fine motor skills such as wringing the water out from the kitchen towel.
Of course my helper or myself could easily do it too, and finish the task faster.
But that’s not the whole point for a 3 year old.
Montessori talks about “The Sensitive Period”, where learning certain things for a child is at his peak and he will soak it in and simple enjoy the learning process. The purpose of getting Big E to do chores around the house is not for the sake of doing chores. It’s about him learning independence and to be a responsible adult when he grows up.
Here’s a great list of age appropriate chores for children. You can print out this free printable from Flanders Family.
Image taken from Flanders Family website.
Big E doesn’t do everything on the list. For certain chores that he does, it is also not compulsory for him to do it every single day. Some days, he doesn’t want to do it and certain tasks like helping me fetch diapers & wipes for his baby brother, sometimes he does it, sometimes he don’t.
Be prepared that they will take longer to complete the chores and it may not be perfectly done. Be ever encouraging!
Most of all, have fun with your child!
Xoxo,
Jingyi
Oh, my boy loves washing dishes too, especially the “soaping” part where he gets to play with bubbles at the same time. Thanks for sharing the list, I have printed it for my reference. It’s true, it’s not so much about getting things done that matters but the learning process while they are doing the chores.
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Impressive! I had to keep a roaster to “remind” the kids to do their tasks.
If only kids help out more, I will have more date night opportunities with the Mrs 🙂
cheers, Andy
(SengkangBabies.com)
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My kids most of the time will wash their dishes after they are done. At the same time wash their own clothes too +_+ In other words, they play with water while washing hence wet shirts after that xp
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Wow! So young you have already started him on chores. I am feeling sooo ashamed that my 10YO only helped to bring his empty plates and cups for me to wash. I must go dig a hole and hide.
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My 2.and a half yr old daughter always come running to me and start picking up toys,will say I am helping mummy.
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YES. I completely agree that it’s so important to give kids some household chores to give them some independence! I think it builds a sense of family responsibility too.
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Such fun he’s having! I can see that he is very concentrating on the chore. Great job!! I just started getting my 3.5yo to clear his dishes and clean up his toy room. The toy room part is a little bit challenging because he gets so distracted by it so easily!
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What a practical way for kids to learn independence and yes we just have to close one eye or maybe two if we want to encourage our little ones to help.
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Aww such a cute little helper!! Keep up the good job 🙂
Ai @ Sakura Haruka
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