At what age do we begin to introduce our children to chores?

Unfortunately, as parents, household chores are unavoidable. Our children are unbelievably messy and it feels as though no matter how hard we try, cleanliness is an impossible thing to achieve. Even after spending hours with a vacuum cleaner attached to the arm, the kids still have the ability to destroy all of the hard work that we’ve done and it doesn’t take them long at all (Sometimes minutes!). It drives me MAD.

I have no problem with toys being over the floor during the day, because after all, ‘A messy home is a happy home’. However, toy mess is one thing, but food mess is a completely different kettle of fish.

No matter what food the kids eat, I can almost guarantee that most of it will end up on the floor. Of course, the toddler is the worst, but to be honest, the twins aren’t much better. I can’t stand food mess. Whether it’s crumbs over the carpet, sweets down the edge of the sofa or banana skins left on the coffee table. It’s gross. The kids however, don’t seem to care, and this is what I want to change. The twins are 8 years old now and I want them to start realising the hard-work that goes into cleaning up after them. My partner and I ensure that they clean their rooms regularly (Although most of the time they just shove it under their bed) and we get the toddler to clean up her toys after she’s finished playing with them.

As they get older, I slowly intend to introduce them to new chores. I hope that it will embed a sense of responsibility into the kids and in turn, improve their independence.

At what age do you/did you begin to introduce your children to chores?

Thanks for reading!

This post also featured as a guest post on Petite Pudding:

http://petitepudding.com/guest-post/children-chores-the-dad-of-design/