education
S
pring is upon us. Now is the
time of year you might feel like
doing some ‘spring cleaning’.
Don’t go it alone. Get your
children involved and you’ll reap benefits
far beyond a tidy home. There are quite
a few ways children can help around the
house for a good clean out as well as on
a regular basis, even from about the age
of two years old. By taking a little time
to show children how to do certain jobs,
they will learn how best to help you and
they’ll pick up practical skills to carry
them through life.
Chores help kids learn responsibility
and independence, giving them a
sense of satisfaction and contribution
to the family. There’s a fair amount of
research that says children who are
involved in household chores gain
confidence as well as relationship,
communication and negotiation skills.
In many studies, doing chores was the
best predictor of which children were
more likely to become happy, healthy,
successful, independent adults.
Before setting up your own ‘to do’
list for your kids, it’s a good idea to
acknowledge the fact that we live in
Hong Kong, where most kids have busy
schedules and many families employ
domestic help. Kids’ afterschool and
weekend activities take up a lot of
time and those who have a helper at
home tend to rely on that help for most
household chores. It becomes a small
challenge to ensure you carve out time
for chores and that you communicate
your intentions to everyone in the home.
But it’s important.
So let’s get to work. What jobs are
suitable and at what ages can we ask
our kids to do chores?
“Your child may be able to do more
than you think. Keep in mind that a
child who has mastered a complicated
computer game can easily run the
dishwasher,” says Elizabeth Pantley,
author of parenting books including
Kid Cooperation: How to Stop Yelling,
Nagging, and Pleading and Get Kids
to Cooperate.
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www.playtimes.com.hk
Chores for Younger Children
Young children can be given simple
chores that involve picking up after
themselves. Chores should include
putting away their toys and books
each day. They can also start to put
their dishes away after a meal. They
may like to have sticker charts to help
remind them what are their chores
and whether or not they’ve done all of
them. A chart with pictures is helpful
for young children who are not able to
read yet.
Chores for children ages two to
three (toddlers)
• Put toys and books away
• Fill pet's food dish
• Put clothes in hamper
• Wipe up spills
• Dust
• Pile books and magazines
• Set placemats on the dinner table
Chores for children ages four to
five (preschoolers)
Any of the above chores, plus:
• Make their bed
• Empty wastebaskets
• Bring in mail or newspaper
• Clear table
• Pull weeds, if you have a garden
• Use hand-held vacuum to pick up
crumbs
• Water flowers, garden
• Unload utensils from dishwasher
• Wash plastic dishes at sink
• Fix bowl of cereal
• Set the table for meals
• Sort clean clothes into piles for
each family member, ready to fold
• Hand you wet clothes to be hung
out to dry
Chores for school-age children
At this age the responsibility with
chores can increase a little but still