Toddlers can sometimes get a bad rep. Sure they are impulsive and generally loud but they are also incredibly willing to help. I have never seen anyone react with as much excitement and positivity as a toddler when invited to participate in chores around their home. In basically every household chore there is a way to include a toddler who wishes to help. It will be worth the extra time and effort to invite them to join you as often as feasible. I want to discuss different household chores and ways they can be modified to include even young toddlers.
Cooking
The easiest way to include toddlers in the kitchen is to invite them to wash your fruits and vegetables. Make it even more fun and through by including a scrub brush for them to use for potatoes and carrots. For the actual food prep start slow, both my children started with peeling half a banana. This task requires careful movement but does not require any tools so it is a great introduction and confidence booster as they will likely be successful. Some other great starter activities are dry pouring- think pouring their cereal in their bowl, or pouring dry ingredients into a recipe. Follow this up with the more challenging wet pouring. Having a small pitcher of water and a cup available throughout the day is an excellent way for them to regularly practice this skill. There are some lovely crinkle cutters available that can be a safe introduction to cutting soft foods. I will be doing a post recommending some of my favorite cooking implements for children soon.
Cleaning
This is an area of learning that will have so many opportunities throughout the day that we often do not even realize it. There are the obvious tasks of having your child help with tidying their toys, but there are also so many other cleaning tasks that toddlers will take great pride in accomplishing. Wiping the counter with a damp cloth after they brush their teeth. Checking for and wiping any droplets after using the toilet. Hanging up their own towel after a bath. These are just a few examples of ways toddlers can contribute in the bathroom first thing in the morning. Try thinking about what you do for your toddler during your routine and consider if they can do it for themselves (if they want to, don’t invite power struggles) or if they can help. Do you put their laundry in the basket? Or their diaper in the bin? While you are sweeping, what is your toddler doing? When you clean furniture would your toddler enjoy using a damp cloth to wipe furniture as well? Does your toddler have the hand strength to operate a spray bottle? Window washing, wiping down a table and wiping up a spill are all toddler favorites because they include water- which generally fascinates small children. You can get expensive cleaning toy kits meant for children but I do not recommend these as they often come with parts that are not functional and are really just toys. I like going to dollar stores and checking out the small brooms, dusters and mops they often stock there. You can also find spray bottles and squeegees at dollar stores to complete your child sized cleaning supplies collection. A real game changer in our house has been the addition of a cordless vacuum. Now whenever we have a spill or a mess after dinner I can count on either my toddler or my preschooler happily cleaning it up unprompted as they no longer need help operating the vacuum. Another great task to teach a toddler is how to scrape their plate and put it in the designated area. I actually forgot to teach this to Little Miss and was surprised one day when the table was clear because she had the opportunity while I had stepped away and she had been observing the rest of the family do it for her whole life.
Laundry
Most children I have worked with love to participate in laundry work. Putting clothes and detergents in the machine, pulling them back into a basket, hanging them to dry. These are all so much fun for children but also engage so many skills! These are excellent learning opportunities and doing them with your toddler means not having to do them during your downtime while the children sleep. As they become able it is also great to include them in folding and matching things like socks and cloths. I like to play a put away game with my children where I fold clothes as quickly as I can on my bed and they grab armfuls of clothes and try to put them away before I fold another pile. They burn of energy, clothes are put away, and the work is shared! It is also a good idea to include children in sorting through clothes that no longer fit (they may miss a favorite article and this makes it easier to understand) and in restocking wardrobes with the next size up.
Plant Care
This is Little Miss’s favorite activity these days. She waters my plants a tiny bit everyday right now, and I monitor to make sure they are not over watered or forgotten about. She is twenty months old now and has been doing this for a couple months and my plants are thriving! She also loves to dust the plants leaves and remove any ill foliage. In the warmer months it is also a great joy to garden with toddlers. Playing in dirt is actually really good for humans, there are good bacteria that we interact with and there have been studies done that show how interacting with soil through gardening actually helps people be happy. It is good for us, and it is good for children! There are different kinds of gardening that you can do with children depending on your goals. One really rewarding approach is to grow vegetables! The benefits are obvious, your toddler gets to see how vegetables grow and taste them! May make them more keen to eat them as well! Another great approach is to plant a pollinator friendly garden and take the opportunity to observe the bees and butterflies that visit. I like to do both each year, food in our backyard, and flowers in our front.
Repairs and Upkeep
When things get broken I like to consider if there is a way my toddler can fix it if they want to. My children have helped with taping torn books, screwing in loose bolts on furniture, and fixing broken toys. They love to help my husband while he works on the car by handing him tools and holding parts in place for him. They help me find missing parts for toys and games and also help with organizing when things get a little too messy. We go through toys and books together to decide what is ready to go to another family, and what they are not yet ready to part with.
The bottom line is that toddlers are members of the family and they generally desire to feel like they contribute. Toddlers do not have a lot of power and they know it but giving them opportunities to help in a meaningful way is not just great for their skill building, it is great for their confidence!
Pet Care
Pet care must be entirely an adults responsibility but a toddler may enjoy helping pour food, refill water or help with grooming depending what kind of pet you have. We have parrots in our home and so my toddler enjoys giving them spray bottle showers. They love it, and she takes pride in being able to do it all by herself. It is also a great idea to include children in the training of pets, and teach them how to respectfully interact with them.
