Kitchen Helpers

I've mentioned before some of the jobs I have our girls do to help in the kitchen, like emptying clean silverware into the drawer (a good sorting activity!), setting and clearing the table, wiping the kitchen floor, or helping with the trash. Amber also mentioned wiping the cabinets and the table. I usually didn't have the girls wipe off the table because crumbs just ended up on the floor, but that can change now! Ted got the GIRLS (not me--though I do use it!) a Dust Buster for Christmas so they could help me clean up crumbs under the table. I LOVE it, it opened up TWO chores they can help with! Thanks honey!

I was talking to my friend Jaci one night about how her oldest son L couldn't wait until his younger brother W was tall enough to reach the sink and cupboards so that W could help L out with some of the kitchen chores. W was just a little too short to reach everything, so I suggested getting a plastic step stool. You can usually find them for less than $8, and they're light enough to be carried around and have rubber feet so they don't slip. The next time she saw me she said they had bought one and L was THRILLED that W could now share in the chores!

Do you have any other ideas for making chores easier for kids? You may not think it is a big deal, but someone else may not have thought about it, so please leave a comment so we can all learn! It takes time and training to teach your kids to help around the house, but I suggest doing it as early as possible. They WANT to help when they are 2 and 3 years old, and this is when a lot of the early groundwork can be laid. Hopefully it will pay off later and maybe the "someday" when we can relax will come even sooner!