I’ve wanted to get Henry more involved in our cleaning routine here at home. Something about responsibility makes cleaning a really fun activity for young kids, and we might as well take advantage of the positive helping attitude while it lasts. All too soon he’s going to wake up and be a grumpy, smelly teenager (which I’m already seeing moments of- so help me).
Today I partnered with Honest Company, a company I really love, to share a simple printable cleaning chart to involve kids more in the cleaning process. The Honest Company makes fantastic green cleaning products, safe and gentle baby, bath and body products that are all non-toxic and natural but also really effective. I love the floor cleaner and the grapefruit scent of this multi-surface cleaner is so fresh.
Keep reading to get the downloadable kids chore chart illustrated by my talented sister Rebecca…
Photography by Liz Stanley. Assisted by Sara Iveson. Printable created by Rebecca Ricks for Say Yes
I love the idea of having regular, consistent chores for kids. I wanted a couple jobs that were consistent on his chart and also one special item everyday. After printing it out (you can print out the daily chore chart here) we laminated it with contact paper and trimmed the edges. It can be hung on his bulletin board with a magnet and you can use a dry erase marker on it to mark off items completed each day.
I really like these tips for getting kids excited and involved in the cleaning process but I’m not going to pretend that I’m an expert at all on this! It’s definitely a work in progress to involve Henry in the household chores. I’m curious how you all handle it!
One thing that never gets old is emphasizing with Henry how ‘grown up’ a particular cleaning job is. He loves feeling like he’s doing something only grown ups are usually allowed to do, like using a knife to prep dinner with me or vacuuming the rugs. We probably use this phrase in our house more than we should: “Well, this is something normally just 7 yr. olds and up can do, but I think you can give it a try…”. Works every time!
Taking the chore chart one step further, going over the step by step process for each task would be a great idea too. In the article I mentioned above, it talks about instead of saying ‘clean your room’, try ‘put your legos in the box’. Specifics on the task to make the expectations clear and consistent. Maybe even make another chart with each step like we did for the ‘how to do laundry’ printable. I think it’s a smart idea I’d love to try. No excuses now, kids!
Honestly, I’m pretty bad about involving Henry in the cleaning process but tell me it’s never too late to start, right? How do you get your kids involved in household chores?
Big thanks to Honest Company for sponsoring this post. We’ve loved trying out their products and are big fans of the company.
We use honest! Diapers the most:) I’ve been meaning to make a chore chart to help with motivation…We have a 5,4 and 1 year old. I love this one! One thing that helps my daughter pick up her room, is, “pick up 10 things!” 10 things till it’s all done.
Oh, thank you! that ‘pick up 10 things’ is a great one! I’ll have to remember to do it. Sometimes we set an alarm too, that helps a ton but sometimes it stresses him out!
Hi! I’m from near Barcelona (Catalonia). I discovered your blog only a few weeks ago and I love it! It’s full of good ideas, crafts and cooking tips! Congratulations!!
Today I’ve read this post about children and household chores and it’s amazing and fantastic. I don’t have children yet but when I’ve got a a son or daughter, I’m going to start with household chores early.
I work as a teacher and babysitter and I’ve seen children who never help at home. Their parents are stressed and they don’t learn how to be self.
Thank you to share your ideas, they are a great inspiration.
Thanks Coral for your kind words about about my site! I agree with kids helping out, I just wish I didn’t have to bribe him so much to do it (sometimes I wish he was just a little bit scared of me but I think he knows too well how to push my buttons!)
Hi Liz, lovely pics and that cute print out too! I think you are off to the right start! My kids are 11,8, and 4. They each have daily helping jobs, even the 4 year old. (I believe you’ve seen my family board on instagram.) In our experience, we have decided not to do allowances. For several reasons, but the bottom line was that I didn’t like what they were spending their money on. They either wanted to buy candy or plastic trinket toys that they lost interest in exactly one hot minute and frankly, we don’t really ned any more ‘things’ in our lives. Instead, we’ve moved to the consensus that these things just help our family run better. We all need to do jobs to help out. It takes time, but in the end, I’m proud that I’m raising kids that know how to make a bed, help with dinner, care for pets, etc. Btw, we use the ‘age’ trick too. As in, “when you are 10 you ‘get’ to put out the recycling and garbage on the street!” works like a charm! 🙂
Amazing, so inspiring!
Oh beautiful photos and lovely illustration printable. Cute!
Thanks Diane!
We just started something similar to this with our 5 year-old and 7 year-old sons a few weeks ago. I’ve been trying off and on to get them involved with cleaning chores for a while, to mixed success. But our new system is working really well so far. I made up a chart for each of them (just using a Table in Word) and printed out a bunch of copies. They each have 6 chores on their chart and some are done every day, some on an as-needed basis. Some are the same for both of them (make your bed, pick up your toys when asked, play with your baby brother when asked) and some are different (one sets the dinner table, one cleans off the dinner table; one helps load the dishwasher, one helps unload the dishwasher; and one fills the cat’s food and water bowls and one takes the trash/recycling bins out to the curb and back once a week). They really like checking off their chores each day and even competing to see who has the most checked boxes each week (they initiated that on their own!). We also give them $2 on Sunday night if we feel like they’ve done their chores well that week. Lastly, I emphasize that chores have to be done cheerfully and that it is part of being a family and contributing. Of course, sometimes they complain and I don’t insist that every single time I unload the dishwasher, for instance, that they have to help, but when I do ask, I expect them to do it. I’m sure this will evolve with time but so far it’s working well for us. P.S. I’m curious if you give your son any sort of incentive for doing chores (like an allowance). I’ve gone back and forth on this but for now we’ve settled on a small allowance.
We’ve gone back and forth on allowances and not. It’s so hard! I hate the feeling of hims expecting a reward for something he should be doing but at this age, I don’t know how else to motivate.
We love Honest Company at our house too! Their baby products and diapers are our favorites
Aren’t they great? The diapers have really cute patterns too 🙂