Why My (Almost) 2 Year Old Has Chores

In today’s society I have noticed that there is a real sense of entitlement with kids these days. For example, I just graduated a class of high school seniors and I am genuinely fearful when I think about a time in the future where they may have to take care of me. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I had some really GREAT kids but, a large number of them genuinely feel like the world owes them something. Without hard work, without sacrifice - they are just owed. That scares me.

I have come in contact with an 8-year-old who had no idea of the concept of laundry and, while I did not expect her to be able to do laundry alone, I at least was hoping that she’d helped her parents sort clothes or something, but nope. Not at all. I don’t know if this has anything to do with the growing number of parents that are disengaged in what is really going on with their children because of social media (I’ll save that story for another day), elevating their careers, or maybe the parents are doing everything they can and the kids are just lazy. Either way, this trend that I am noticing while being in the classroom has me in a place where I want to make sure I integrate some old school loving when it comes to my kiddo.

Having Peyton “help” out around the house can sometimes (read: all the time) make our clean up sessions three times longer and leaves mommy sometimes (read: most times) having to go back and re-do the things the way I like them. I have yet to re-do her chores in front of her because I do not want her to feel like what she accomplished wasn’t good enough and plus she’s only one so I have to be realistic.

Now, I am in no way saying that doing things this way guarantees a good kid. I mean, hell - what do I know? I have only been a mom for almost two years. However, I have been dealing with kids and their development in some capacity since the day I graduated college. Starting off as a nanny, transitioning into education, and then finally as a mommy I definitely have some stories I could tell you. I’ll spare you of all of that today and share with you guys the three things I have Peyton do in my attempt to teach responsibility, structure and self-discipline without disrupting the fun we have the majority of our day!

1.Putting Up Dirty Clothes:

Every night after we take a bath, I have Peyton put her dirty clothes in the hamper all by herself. It takes about 10 minutes because she refuses to pick things up in a pile she must go back and forth from her bathroom to her room and pick up every single article of clothing. She doesn’t understand that shoes are not clothes so I end up having to take those out of the hamper once she is sleep.

2. Cleaning Off Her High Chair:

This one happens to be our Morkie Diesel’s favorite part of the day! Peyton gets a baby wipe and wipes up all of the food that missed her mouth during meal time. During this cleaning session most of her food ends up on the floor and is quickly cleaned up by Diesel in his attempt to do his part in keeping the house in order.

3. Picking Up Toys After Playtime:

We’ve done this so long, I don’t even have to ask her to do her clean up a majority of the time! When I let the water out of the tub, on cue she sings the “Clean-Up” song and starts putting her toys in the bin. The finale? She even ends it with a triumphant “all done mommy!” and each and every time my heart melts.

What are some of the things your toddlers do to help around the house or, better yet, what do you think is a good age to start teaching responsibility?

Why My (Almost) 2 Year Old Has Chores

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