In short, yes. Most importantly is to let them do chores they love. Forcing chores on children they dislike is an unhealthy way to build a relationship with chores.

 

I know sometimes our toddler want to do the chores and it will take longer than usual, let them be. This makes them feel important and also give them self-confidence to do things by themselves. They also imitate what we do and watching us do daily chores is a great way to get them on their path to chores.

If your child can sit up by himself it is likely that they will start to pack toys in baskets, once walking they will do much more.

 

How to engage kids with chores?

• -Be realistic about their ability
• -make it fun
• -don’t bribe them with materials, they would want a reward every time they did a chore
• -praise them when they did a chore, this reinforce positive behaviours

There are also many benefits to doing chores:

It helps reinforce respect

Our kids often sees us working hard around the house. When they are assigned chores and have to clean up after themselves, they are more likely to respect the work of our hands and those of others. It also teaches them to respect their environment.

It teaches them life skills

It is a fact that they won’t be young forever and these teaching them life skills from an early age will be beneficial for them once they go out into the big world.

Helps them to build a strong work ethic

Bosses and teachers love this trait so let’s start them young. Children know that after cleaning there is a reward e.g outside play (I suggest not rewarding with material things at an early age). This helps them to understand that you reap rewards when you work and would thus awaken a strong work ethic within them.

Teaches teamwork

Team work is easily modelled at home for kids. It also teaches them how to work on a team and that there are consequences if expectations are not being met. When they go to school they know the value of teamwork.

Improves planning and time management skills

It helps them to understand that there is a time for everything. When they are older this will become a habit and it will be beneficial for them to make wise decisions in terms of time management.

Learn responsibility and self-reliance

Assigning chores to your child teaches them responsibility. It also makes them feel mature because you trust them to do chores.

Gives family a chance to bond

Doing chores together can create special moments between families. It also makes children feel important when they are included in tasks.

 

BELOW ARE SOME AGE APPROPRIATE CHORES FOR YOUR TODDLER TO DO:

 

Happy cleaning! And remember, let them do chores they really enjoy.

It is no question that our toddlers mind are always busy and needs continuous stimulation.

 

Learning doesn’t have to happen at a table. Our kids learn as they play and through everyday life experiences.  Below are a few activities to try with your toddler:

 

                                                                    SENSORY PLAY

Sensory play builds nerve connections in the brain’s pathways, which lead to the child’s ability to complete more complex learning tasks. It also supports language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving skills, and social interaction

-a bowl of jelly with hidden objects in, let them take it out

-shaving foam/yogurt on a mirror, let them draw, scribble, go wild

-mud bath for farm animals, let them scrub the toys

-rainbow rice for scooping/ transferring. Find recipe here

 

                                                                        SORTING

Sorting helps build visual perception and thinking skills. Children can generally sort the colours before they can name them. Learning to categorise and classify helps memory skills.

-start out with 2 colours at a time and work your way up

-as you child gets familiar with more objects (e.g shapes) let them sort accordingly

-make it fun and include movement e.g they have to walk/ crawl to put the red block in the red basket

 

                                                                PUZZLES

This is a great way to create a fun learning opportunity for kids. Simple inset/ jigsaw puzzles help children develop finger strength, perseverance and problem solving skills. … Picking up, moving and twisting the pieces of a puzzle helps children to develop finger strength and hand-eye coordination.

-inset puzzles are great to begin with

-jigsaw puzzles- this is a favourite at any age

-geometric puzzles- teaches them about shapes

-connect the dots-  here they learn about numbers

-mazes- helps with critical thinking and eye coordination

 

                                                               COUNTING

Teaching your toddler to count involves more than helping them learn the numbers one to ten. It involves helping them understand the meaning of numbers. E.g give me 2 bananas, and they then have to count them out and give it to you.

-start out with 1-5 and work your way up

-count anything throughout the day

-put flash cards up in the house and when they stop at the number let them jump or clap that amount of times

-do counting receptively (give me 3 balls) or expressively (them counting)

 

                                                            SCOOPING AND POURING

Scooping and pouring activities help develop fine motor skills in under 5s as well as using math concepts such as less and more. These tasks help children coordinate their hand movements with what they are seeing and feeling (it might be water pouring on their feet!)

-put water in a big container and let them scoop and pour with cups

-put objects in the water, let them scoop and transfer it to another container

 

                                                           PLAY DOUGH ACTIVITIES

Play dough activities has numerous benefits. It is calming, it helps with fine motor skills, encourages creativity, enhances eye-hand coordination, improves social skills, promote playtime and supports literacy and numeracy.

-rolling balls and strings (strengthens hand and arms muscles)

-poking holes (strengthens finger muscles)

-makes shapes, numbers, objects (creativity and learning)

-use cookie cutters and do make believe play

 

                                                         FINE MOTOR

Fine motor activities help children perform important tasks like feeding themselves, grasping toys, buttoning and zipping clothes, writing, drawing, and more. The ability to complete self-care and everyday tasks helps a child’s self-esteem and confidence to increase.

-beading/ threading

-posting

-weaving

-block play

 

                                                            GROSS MOTOR

Gross motor skills involve movements of the large muscles of the arms, legs and torso. Kids rely on gross motor skills for everyday activities at school, at home and in the community. Kids who struggle with gross motor skills have trouble doing whole-body movements like climbing and jumping jacks.

-climbing

-crawling

-obstacle courses

-jumping

-yoga for kids

-running

Let’s stimulate our little ones’ brains one activity at a time while they still have lots of fun!