There are many advantages to giving kids chores to do around the house. While it can often be easier to just do the household chores yourself especially when it takes five times as long to explain to your five-year-old what needs to get done, and then supervise her while she does it, the fact is that helping out with everyday tasks is important for your child’s development.

Why Giving Kids Chores Can Be Good for Them

The small tasks your five-year-old can do around the house may not seem like much, but they can teach your child valuable lessons that will last into his preteen years and beyond. By the time your child is nine or 10 years old, he can make significant contributions to household tasks. Some examples of the ways chores can benefit kids:

• Giving kids chores can build self-esteem. Getting a chore done and doing it well can give your child a major sense of accomplishment. Susan’s seven-year-old vacuums and cleans the floor every weekend with a microfiber cloth. He sometimes grumbles when he’s not in the mood to do work, but he usually gets into it once he gets started. And the look of satisfaction he gets on his face when he wrangles piles of dust bunnies: Priceless.
• Giving kids chores can teach the importance of completing an assigned job. This will become more useful as your child gets older and has more responsibilities at school and at home.
• Giving kids chores can emphasize the value of keeping things clean and organized. It’s easier to find things and think clearly when your environment is less cluttered.
• Giving kids chores can set a pattern of helping around the house. Once you get your child into the household chore habit, it’ll become a part of his life that will continue into the teen years and beyond.
• Giving kids chores can give him a sense of being part of the household “team.” If your child asks why he has to do a chore, explain that he’s a part of the family, and everyone in the family must do his share. By giving him the “we’re all in this together” way of looking at things, he is more likely to see his work as part of something bigger. He’s also less likely to see household chores as something he’s being singled out and forced to do since everyone is working together.

Also try to include your child in bigger tasks, like shopping for groceries. This can be an excellent opportunity to teach him about making healthy food choices (he can help you pick out fresh fruits and vegetables and decide what to make for meals). It can also be a great way to teach him about household budgets, an especially important topic for families in today’s economy.

Other Tips to Keep in Mind

• Kids want to help. Take advantage of this natural desire and encourage her excitement about doing kid chores.
• If he says he’s bored, it may be because young children often have a short attention span. He could also be having trouble doing the chore as well as he wants to. Ask him if he’d like to do the chore with you or let him switch off to something else.
• Get her input on what chores she’d like to try. If it’s something too difficult or dangerous for her age, come up with an alternative. She can’t chop vegetables, but he can tear lettuce for a salad, for instance.
• Make chores for kids, fun. When cleaning your house, you may crank up some rock music to get everyone motivated.
• Give him lots of praise. At first, your child will probably make a mess or not do it right. But rest assured, he’ll get better with time and practice.

As with so many things in parenting, you’ll get what you put in. By taking the time to help your young child get into the habit of helping out around the house, you’ll set a pattern that will benefit you both as he grows up.

SOME CHORES A 5 TO 7-YEAR-OLD CAN DO:

• Sweep floors
• Make her bed
• Clean her room
• Hang up her towel
• Feed pets
• Set the table
• Help clear the dishes after a meal

SOME CHORES AN 8 TO 10-YEAR-OLD CAN DO:

• Load the dishwasher
• Put away groceries
• Make his own breakfast, lunch and snack
• Do laundry
• Help make dinner