4 year old chores?

Question

My 7 year old son vacums, seperates his laundry, does some dishes. I gave him 1.50 today for vacuming 3 rooms EXCLUDING his because he has to keep his clean no matter what.

What can I have my 4 year old do? I had her wipe the bathroom counter with a wet rag, put away her clothes (son also does that) puts her clothes in the washer, and makes her bed

Answer 1

d**n your mean, I understand a child should have some responsibility...but you make it sound like slavery. My daughter is 4 and she doesnt even clean on her own, her mother plays clean up game with her. As for the seven yr old...what is a 1.50 gonna buy him??? Thats too many chores for your children to be doing, it would be more understandable if they were 9 and older.

Answer 2

WOW if you are serious, can you come over to my house and be our nanny?  I'm serious.  That is cool!.

Answer 3

I say child labor.

children shouldnt have to clean anything but their own mess.

if youre making them clean up the house because youre too lazy,thats just wrong.

Answer 4

If you have small trash cans in your bathrooms she can dump them out into the bigger kitchen trash can. I'm assuming that she already picks up her own toys...you could buy a broom and dustpan made for her size and teach her to sweep (my son loves doing that). Other than that, I'm not sure. Since she's only 4 your options are pretty limited.

Answer 5

This is great children need to learn that they have to help and it also teaches them how to look after themselves.  You are doing a great job as a mother.

I taught my 15 year old son from a young age to help and now he cooks beautifully and irons now as well - though he wouldn't like his friends to know this.

He is also good with the vaccum cleaner and is also fantastic at decorating.

One word of warning - my mother got him to help strip wallpaper at the age of 4 and told him what a great help he was - so he decided to try to strip wallpaper from rooms which were not being decorated.

As I said, you are doing a great job as a mother, tidying up and dusting is fine for your younger child just now.  

Keep up the good work - some day in the future, your children's future partners will thank you for what you are doing.

Answer 6

I can't find my list, but I had a list of appropriate chores taken from an abilitations magazine a few years ago.  She can throw out her own trash, shred lettuce for a salad, dust, pick up her toys, feed the pet (with help if its a can), get the mail (with help), put her clothes in the hamper, we have a swivel sweeper that is lightweight and doesn't plug in, we have our autistic 34 month old do this, bring in the groceries, we even have our 20 month old do this with us (we give him a lightweight item to carry not bread though he smooshes it, maybe she could fold towels.  My younger 2 fight over who gets to squirt the toys from a spray bottle with a rubbing alcohol solution while I disinfect them.  They would love to use Windex, but because of chemicals I don't let them.  I don't think this is child labor, its about teaching the kids how to be responsible and independent.  I have an autistic 7 yr old that is super independent because we started before 2 with this.  And anyone that thinks it is helpful to have a 4 yr old cinderella clearly hasn't ever given a 4 yr old a task, you have to micromanage everything and it takes 3x as long and usually needs to be redone anyway.

Answer 7

I agree with you that the ones thinking poor little kid shouldn't have to work are completely nuts.  Those are the kids that grow up thinking every one is required to do everything for them.  Four years old is not too young to do housework.  I agree with your saying that keeping their rooms clean is their job no matter what.  I had my daughter dust all the furniture and clean the knick knacks with a wet rag (I had nothing valuable, if you do, skip that part, don't want to take the chance on breaking them).  She can take the clean clothes out of the dryer and fold them and take them to the proper rooms.  If the basket is too heavy for her to carry from the dryer to where she folds it, her brother can carry it for her.  Either one of them can take out the trash.  Well, maybe she can empty the small trash cans and he can take the big bag outside.  She can take a wet rag and wipe the baseboards every few months.  My daughter loved to vacuum, and that was what I hated the most, so that was a good deal for both of us.  My daughter understood that everyone who lived in the house helped out to keep it clean.  (Yes, my ex helped too, I worked full time so he helped around the house)

Answer 8

My 3 year old daughter cleans her bedroom every morning, picks up her toys after she has finished with them and puts her plate in the washing up bowl after dinner. I think thats enough at her age... She has only just gone 3. Also she helps me pair socks, a fun learning game for her lol :)

Answer 9

Have her put her toys away, clean her room, help dry and put away dishes. I like your style, with young ones doing chores, excluding their room!

Answer 10

Why not ask her to help you clear or set the table? It's minor enough, but its a start.

Answer 11

I think you shouldn't give your 4 year old a chore that might compromise her safety or something that is really hard to do. Why not have her sort laundry...like pairing up socks, etc. or putting away her toys before going to sleep.. Make it fun, that way she'll like doing it and you won't have to force or nag her.

Answer 12

Pick up her toys, help you with your chores

Answer 13

my son is also 4 and he takes out the garbage and also takes out the dog.  He will basically help me out with anything because I am 37 weeks pregnant.  Try different things with your daughter.  Whatever she can do to help mommy out is her chore.

Answer 14

I think it's wonderful that you're setting chores for them.

It teaches them responsibility, and that to earn money you need to work.

Answer 15

Truthfully i think a 4 year old should be able to clean his room and mabey clean up the living room.

Or you can find the funist chores for your 4 year old!

Answer 16

My son is 4 and he is responsible for clearing his plate from the table, putting all dirty clothes into the hamper, and picking up his toys & books every night.  He is such a great helper if/when I ask him to do things, so I try not to add too much to the things I already ask him to help with (throwing away little brother's diapers, putting away shoes, helping "fold" laundry, etc.).

Answer 17

You could maybe have her dust with water and a rag. Or help water the plants. Feed the pets. Nothing too huget that she won't be able to do. My brother helps unload the dishes except for knives and glasses.

Answer 18

Tashabasha is just so wrong on so many different levels. You are teaching your child a work ethic that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. I don't have any further suggestions for you, there are some excellent ones already. But Tashabasha's answer irritated me. It would be very easy to jump on an ethnic train with this one but I happen to know not all blacks are like her. Most still teach their kids responsibility and morality.

Answer 19

The best place to start for any small child is with their own immediate things - four years old is a bit young for kids to be learning to do general house chores.  Have her start with things like her own room - her toys, clothes, making her bed etc. and work gradually towards teaching her how to contribute to the cleanliness of the entire family's area.

You could start by having her help you with the easier parts of chores you do around the house - that will make her feel useful and help her to learn how to do things, while at the same time, not making her feel like she's responsible for cleaning parts of the house a four year old really shouldn't have to deal with.

Children should be taught the importance of cleanliness and tidying up their own things, and to contribute to the cleanliness of all the family areas along with all the other family members.  They're children, not mini-maids - and the last thing you want is for them to hate you when they grow up for treating them as such.  Be careful that you don't over-abuse their willingness to please you, or you will resent it in the years to come.

Best of luck!

Answer 20

-Help set the table at dinner time. (such as put glasses, placemats and spoons on the table)