There are many kitchen chores you kids can do! Read below to find a printable chart with kitchen chores for kids by age.
Parents often underestimate how much their kids can do. When my daughter first started at a Montessori preschool, I was taken by complete surprise at how much they expected her to do independently. As a first time mom, I was used to helping her with everything. I remember walking in one day and the teacher told her to hang up her coat.
She’s only three! She can’t hang up her coat.
I watched as she put her coat on the ground, put the hanger on top of it, zipped it up, and put it in the coat closet.
Wait! She can zip, too?
It blew my mind!
My daughter is now seven and I have my second child in Montessori preschool. I’ve embraced the philosophy of independence and let it overflow into my home. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and my kids started kitchen chores at a young age. I’m teaching them important life skills and, most of the time, they are making my life easier. Also, if your kids have the right type of tools, sometimes it helps them get excited to be involved!
It’s not difficult to involve your kids with kitchen chores. Set the expectation and follow through every day. Soon, they’ll know exactly what they are supposed to do and will do it without you even having to ask. All right, maybe that won’t happen all the time. Let’s be real. You’ll have to remind them. But rest assured, your kids can do chores in the kitchen, so set the bar high!
Here’s a chart that acts as a general guideline to what kitchen chores kids can do at different ages. Keep in mind that every child is different. Some children will follow this guideline to a T, while others will be slightly ahead of or slightly below the curve. That’s normal, but you can use this to help you see at about what age your child can start helping with certain tasks.
Click here if you’d like to download this chart to print at home!
Show Them How
Before I require my children to do any of the tasks described, I demonstrate exactly what I expect of them. They don’t get it right the first time. It takes practice and consistency on my part. But the effort is worth the result, I promise!
My daughter turned 2 in March and she currently empty her plate into the garbage and then sets it on the counter. She goes and gets her step stool and rinses all of the dinner dishes while I or my husband load them into the dishwasher. She dusts the furniture, washes windows, and washes mirrors….well pretty much anything I can spray and she can wipe she does. She’s been washing windows and dusting since she could walk. Every chore is done to music and done as a family. I love this chart because there are simple tasks that I overlooked but I do think it could be expanded some.
What 2-3 year old can fill water glasses? How would they do that exactly? They can’t even reach the sink or refrigerator dispenser. It would require so much supervision and effort by the parent that there is no point to it. It doesn’t save me time and may cost me more to clean up the mess. No thanks.
My 2 1/2 year old LOVES to fill water glasses. He just has a little stool to reach and he feels so big when he does it. Every kid is different and so you will have to be the judge of what your child is capable of. Good luck!
Good idea’s, but be careful if letting a child use a handheld vacuum. I knew a grown adult who had a big section of hair torn off her head when it got too sucked in. Those things are strong!