If you’ve followed our blog and seen the recent farm post about the new things around the farm, you know we are bottle feeding a new calf. She’s in a stall in the horse barn so twice a day when we feed her, the kids fight over who gets to clean the stall. My daughter declared, “I LOVE to scoop the poop out!”
It’s a new chore and the novelty has yet to wear off but when it does, they won’t be so anxious to “scoop the poop.” From the time my kids were young (and probably yours too), they were fascinated with toy vacuums, brooms, mops, lawn mowers, etc. Hubs and I just laughed and let them use the real thing (well, not the real lawn mower!) because who doesn’t want a break from sweeping, right?
The work never met my standards because they were toddlers, but it was fine because they were learning from such a young age to help around the house and it was fun to them.
Just stop. I know what you’re thinking. Yeah, Farm Wyfe, too bad chores aren’t fun for them now! Let’s just blow that myth about kids hating chores and how boring they are right out of the water, ok?
I went straight to the source to find out how chores can be fun for kids and parents. “Soul Sister, how can chores be fun for kids?” I asked my dimple-cheeked daughter.
She tilted her head as she considered her answer. “Well,” her foot began to tap, “you just put some music on, move to the beat, get up on ya feet and clean!” Her hips started swaying and she spun around. “Yeah!”
My daughter is not normal. We don’t call her the soul sister for nothing because I swear, she always has some kind of beat going on only she can hear. But she does have a point! We love music around our home and upbeat music does get our feet tapping and our bodies moving.
My other daughter said, “Working together makes chores fun. I don’t like folding laundry but when we are all in the living room together folding clothes together and listening to music, it’s fun!”
She’s right. Many hands make light work. 
We already agreed chores are good for kids. They build responsibility and self-discipline and the purpose is to teach them life skills which will help them succeed in life which is what every parent should want for their child. And we already found that kids think kids should have chores, so what are we waiting for? Let’s assign some chores!
So what kind of chores are appropriate? Here’s a great guideline:
Toddlers
- Pick up toys
- Put dirty laundry in hamper
- Dust low furniture and baseboards with a sock
Preschoolers
- Unload dryer
- Fold wash cloths and towels
- Sort socks
- Sort dirty laundry
- Hang new bag in trash can
- Feed animals
Early Elementary (ages 5-8)
- Make bed
- Clean room
- Unload dishwasher
- Take out trash
- Unload dryer, fold their own laundry and put it away
- Hang up church clothes
- Assist with meal prep
- Set and clear dinner table
- Wipe down kitchen counters
- Wipe down dirty walls (magic eraser)
- Wipe down bathroom counters and tub (magic eraser)
- Sweep and Wet Jet floors
- Vacuum
Later Elementary and older (ages 9+)
- Laundry (wash, dry, fold, put away)
- Change diapers
- Help dress younger siblings
- Clean toilets
- Check younger siblings chores and assist if needed
- Meal planning and prep
- Loading dishwasher
These are the chores our kids do and you can see how kitchen chores are split among the different ages so after a meal, everyone pitches in, cleans up and the job is done in no time and we are able to spend more family time together.
Sharing chores quickly becomes a habit when we work together singing along to music or whistling while we work (oh no, that wasn’t us, that was the seven dwarfs!). Find what works for your family and don’t become discouraged when you have to tell your child 4,586 times to take the trash out or scrape the food off the dinner plates before loading it into the dishwasher. They will forget what you told them to do and they will even choose to play instead of obeying. Figure out the discipline ahead of time and keep persevering! You’re setting your child up for success when you instill responsibility and self-discipline at an early age.
Amy Huntley from The Idea Room has put together a great list of chore charts if you need ideas! I’ve tried the chore charts and it’s just one more thing for me to keep up with so I don’t use them anymore but there are some really cute ones on here!
What are your child’s favorite chore and their hated chore? Let us know in the comments below!
Until next time,
The Farm Wyfe
P.S.
My friend’s son wanted to know what farm chores our kids had so here is a glimpse: gather chicken eggs, feed the animals, fill water troughs for cattle, pigs, chickens & turkeys, move cattle from one pasture to another, plant seeds, pull weeds, pick veggies, and cut flowers.