Are you looking for ideas of simple chores around the house that your under five can help with? If your child loves watching you do household jobs and seems interested in wanting to help, now might be a great time to introduce a few simple tasks they can take ownership of. After all, give it a few years and they will probably rather be doing something else! So read on for 16 ideas of chores you can easily let your child help with.
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1. Putting Their Toys Away
Lots of childcare settings and baby classes have a ‘tidy up time’ towards the end, so your child may already be familiar with putting things away. The key is to have a system of where things go, so your child can easily find boxes and storage. Use pictures to label containers and group similar toys, e.g. cars, train tracks, jigsaws. See here for more home organisation tips for busy families.
2. Unloading The Washing Machine
There’s something about washing machines! Babies and toddlers often seem fascinated by the spin cycle, watching the washing go round and round in circles. If you put a large basket by the door once the washing machine has finished, many under fives will happily drag out the washing into the box. You may even find they can help with hanging it out – they can pass the pegs for example or may be able to help hang some of the smaller items of clothing on a drying rack.
3. Pairing Or Sorting Socks – Chores For Under Fives
Matching pairs of socks can be a really fun ‘chore’ for your under five. Simply get them to lay out all the socks on the floor or bed and then find the ones that match like a pairs game. Matching things together will help your child with their maths skills as well.
4. Sorting Washing – Simple Chores For Under Fives
Your toddler may be able to recognise their own clothes by now, so you can play a fun sorting game of ‘throw your clean clothes in the container/basket’. This is great for sorting skills and is a form of early maths too as they learn how to categorise.
5. Putting Away Clothes In Their Drawers
Once your under five has a pile of their clothes, why not help them find the right drawer or drawers to put them away in? If you have a system for their clothes (e.g. underwear in one drawer, pyjamas in another etc.) this can be a way of your child learning how to organise and find their clothes again when they’re looking for something.
6. Making The Bed – Simple House Chores For Under Fives
Depending on how tidy your child likes their room, you may find they are willing to at least pull the covers back up during the day, put their pyjamas under the pillow and a favourite soft toy. Other under fives may enjoy helping to strip the bed ready for washing and even help plump up pillows or put the duvet cover back on.
7. Dusting – Simple House Chores For Under Fives
Everyone loves a feather duster! Even if you don’t own one, a simple dusting cloth is enough for your toddler or under five to get the idea of making things clean. As you can physically see dust, lots of children like the process of wiping dust off things and then shaking the duster out afterwards.
9. Setting The Table – Chores For Under Fives
You can always start your child off setting out a ‘Teddy Bear’s Picnic’ on the floor with a rug and plastic tableware. If your child is confident with that, why not get them to set out their own place at the table ready for the next meal or snack?
10. Sorting (Washed) Washable Nappies
Sorting nappies is a great one for your under five to help with if they have a younger sibling (or even if they’re that bit older and still in nappies themselves). Reusable nappies take a bit of prep to reassemble once they’re washed and dried. You can ask your child to put all the nappies in a row, then put a liner and one or two ‘booster’ pads on top, depending on the brand of the nappy. Older children may be able to reassemble the nappies themselves with a bit of help and practice.
11. Simple Cooking Or Baking Prep – Chores For Under Fives
Your under five can easily help with measuring ingredients, mixing and stirring – all without even going near the oven. They can use cookie or gingerbread cutters or spoon cake mix into fairy cases. There are bookable cooking courses and classes out there too for little ones. You might find they want to help with the washing up as well!
And here a few chores your toddler can help with ‘outside’ (under supervision, of course):
1. Car Washing – Outdoor Chores An Under Five Can Help With
What could be easier than grabbing a bucket of soapy water and a sponge? If you ask your child to ‘wash’ the easy-to-reach areas which are at their height, they should find this one really fun. Think doors and side panels (avoid greasy wheels). Plus all that squeezing of the sponge and big washing movements are great for their gross motor skills. Meanwhile you can work alongside your toddler or wash the higher-up areas. The beauty of car washing is that you can always tip a bucket of water over the top or buff yourself. Dress your child in waterproofs and wellies then they can get as wet as they like without feeling cold!
2. Window Washing (Outdoor) – Chores For Under Fives
Here at Happity we love this one. Simply give your toddler a soapy bucket of water and brush or cloth. If you have a patio window or door, they can stand outside and have lots of fun washing that window – all in full view of you in the kitchen or lounge! Dress your child in a light raincoat so the water doesn’t run straight back down their sleeves,
3. Picking Fruit Or Vegetables – Outdoor Chores An Under Five Can Help With
If you’re growing strawberries, apples, tomatoes or beans, teach your child how to wiggle the fruit to see if it’s ready to come off. Simply give your under five a Tupperware container and see if they can fill it. It won’t even feel like a chore!
4. Sweeping The Path – Outdoor Chores An Under Five Can Help With
With a dustpan and brush, your toddler can have fun collecting up leaves, mud and dirt. If you’re closely supervising them you can even help them with a broom for larger areas. If you’ve washed the patio, your child can help sweep away the water.
5. Gardening – Outdoor Chores An Under Five Can Help With
Transferring soil from one container to another can keep some toddlers entertained for hours. Again, gardening is great for those gross motor skills. You might have an empty patch of soil or flowerbed where you want to plant. This can be a great place for your under five to practise their digging skills. Once you’re ready to add seeds or plants, you can then show your toddler how to measure the right depth with their trowel. There are loads of great handheld gardening tools and gloves out there for children. Also look for gardening and nature groups specially for toddlers.
6. Cleaning/Washing Outdoor Equipment
Chances are if your slide, treehouse or play equipment is ‘dirty’, it’s probably been covered in sand, chalk or mud! Help your child fill up a small bucket with water, give them a scrubbing brush and let them get busy. You can also fill up larger buckets with water and let them dunk/wash toys like outdoor cars, tractors, balls and sandpit accessories.
What Different Household Chores Can Children Do As They’re Growing Up?
Here’s a Montessori age-appropriate chart of which chores you can reasonably expect your kids to manage at different ages. It doesn’t mean you have to stick to it though! It’s just interesting to see what ideas are on there. Remember, these chores will definitely take a lot longer with your under five joining in, but they will hopefully learn so much and have fun as well.
What If My Under Five Doesn’t Want To Help With Chores?
As with all these things, don’t force it if your child isn’t in the mood. But if they’re happy and wanting to help out with whatever you’re doing (which young children often do), it can be fun for them to join in.
Want to get out and about, have fun with your baby or toddler, and meet other parents?
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