Household chores are more than inconvenient necessities or things to “make” your children do: They can function as building blocks for a young person’s development.
Chores allow children to sharpen their time-management skills, deal with stress, and instill a higher capacity for responsibility and independent functioning.
Starting age: 3 to 4. Preschoolers are well equipped to learn the basic tenets of shared responsibility. Simple cues and game-like challenges suit this age group well, such as having them put toys away as a “game” before dinner is served.
Starting age: 3 to 4 Gentle interactions with animals, a sense of responsibility for another living creature, the predictability of mealtime, and the satisfaction of pleasing an animal are powerful experiences for a young child.
Starting age: 5 to 7 While preschoolers should be able to help out with bed making, 5- to 7-year-olds are capable of pulling the task off independently.
Starting age: 5 to 7 Helping in the garden provides significant mental and physical developmental strides for children.