photo credit: Sugar Pond

Moms sometimes feel as if they are being overwhelmed by everything they have to do in a given day. The housework piles up and you feel like you have a zillion things to do and not enough hours in the day. Then you may still have work to think about and homework to do, not to mention any appointments scheduled for that day. What can moms do to help ease these feelings?

They can put the kids to work. What? Yes, you read that correctly. Even children as young as a year old can be taught some responsibility by helping around the house. The amount of responsibility you wish to teach each child will differ depending on their age and ability levels. Young toddlers can be taught to clean up their toys. Even if they do not pick up everything on the first try, it will still lessen the number of times you need to bend over to pick up and put away their things. As the little ones practice doing this, they will get better at it over time, and will eventually be able to put away all of their toys at the end of each day.

My children are a little older than that – 6, 8, and 10 – so they are able to help a little more. However, when I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis almost 3 years ago (and found myself unable to physically keep up with everything that needed to be done), they were not helping around the house as well as they are now. It took time for them to learn to help the way they do, but they did it. By teaching them to help out, they are learning to be more responsible for their belongings, for the things in their home, and for themselves (and often will clean something up without being asked). By having some good helpers, I am better able to keep up with the housework and my stress levels are lower.

So, where do you begin? No matter your child’s age, start with their bedrooms. Have them first practice picking up their toys at the end of every day before they go to bed. You may even want to set up a reward system for doing this. My children each earn 25 cents per day that they remember to do this. However, some children could earn television time or computer time or maybe even have the opportunity to choose the board game for family game night. Whatever the reward, use it to help motivate your children. After they have gotten pretty good at picking up their toys each day, add something else for them to be responsible of. Putting away their clean clothing is a very good next step. For younger children, I suggest labeling each of their dresser drawers with a picture of the type of items that go in that drawer. Then, when the pile of clean clothes is delivered, they can put it away instead of you. Think of another reward for this job so your children will be further encouraged to continue helping.  (Additional jobs your children might be able to help with are listed at the end of this article.)

Once they can complete these two jobs, then they may be ready to help in other areas of the home. Just remember to have a reward for each job. If you use behavior bucks in your home, they can earn those. If your children earn allowance, you can pay them for each job they complete, rather than having a set fee they get each week. No matter what reward you choose, it will help your children to want to keep helping you out! The more they help you out, the more responsible they will become for their belongings, their home, and themselves.

To help you think of some areas that your children may be able to help with, here are some of the jobs that my children have learned to complete:

·         carry in the groceries

·         help put away the groceries

·         set the table

·         feed the dogs

·         get water for the guinea pig

·         help prepare dinner

·         dust one room

·         get the mail

·         help make coffee

·         vacuum

·         wipe down a bathroom sink

·         take out the trash

·         make your own breakfast or lunch (not with the stove, though)

·         clean windows in one room

·         water plants

·         wipe the kitchen table

·         organize a bookshelf, video cabinet, or television cabinet

·         complete 1 load of laundry (wash, dry, fold, and deliver)

·         take dogs outside and watch them

About the author:    Alicia H. Tucker is a homeschool mom of three, after having taught in public schools for over ten years. She has a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a master’s degree in Education with a focus on Curriculum and Technology. She is a freelance writer and is currently working on writing her first book.