Sunday, February 20, 2011
Age appropriate chores
Many Children coming into foster care do not know how to thrive in a healthy family environment. One thing we strive is teach them how to act like a family member.
Things My Two year old Helps out with:
Putting toys and other items away.
Sweeping up food with a small pan and brush.
How my Three year olds pitch in:
Take piles of clothes to their drawer and put them away
Wipe down highchairs after meals
Move small table into hall so that moping and sweeping can begin
put their own dishes in the sink as well as those of the younger children.
My four year old has even more responsibility
puts clean shirts on hangers
refills the upstairs diaper and wipes station
puts the trash in the garage
puts trash bins and recycling out by the street (supervised)
uses the handheld dustbuster to vacuum stairs
sweeps kitchen floor after younger children have attempted
The six year old can do even more
match clean socks and put them together
organize books on the bookshelf
sweep porch and wipe down the porch toys
bring all the laundry bins down stairs to laundry room and sort
wash plastic/melamine dishes
wipe down around toilet after making careless "peeing" mistakes
the Teenagers in our home
help with the younger children
cook and get plates ready for younger children
wash dishes/ load dishwasher
mop kitchen floor
do their own laundry
Now even though i don't have children in the ages 7-15 arena most of the teen chores can be done by children in that age group. When a child has a certain responsibility it makes them feel as though they belong. I never leave one child to sit and watch as the whole family is functioning. When the kitchen is finally clean after a meal we can all admire our work . Everyone feels good because each member has contributed to the final result!
Always remember to praise the child for the chore they have have completed!
"You are doing such a great job sweeping"!!!
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I'm posting here, but it's kind of a response to a number of your posts. I love that you are here talking about fostering kids in such a positive and upbeat way! My husband and I want to adopt through the foster system in the next few years and it's lovely to see what your family is doing for these kids. Thank you for sharing your experiences! Oh, and I'm totally with you on chores and responsibilities! We all live here and it doesn't happen without all of us pitching in!
ReplyDeleteMolly (mollyandollie on the botswap!)
hi
ReplyDeletei'm a new follower from SB and allready love your blog!
during the next days i'll take the time to read it all ;)
Love
Naomi
Thanks so much for the chores list...It will help me to stablish chore with my toddler...That's is so good when everybody contribues with the family and their environment! Following you from Swap-Blog (Airamty)
ReplyDeleteWow. You are such an amazing person, Rachel. I'm reading your blog and thinking, "She's an angel. Truly an angel on earth." You and your husband share so much love. Thank you for sharing this with us.
ReplyDeleteAs for this post, much like Airamty, I'm glad you shared the chore list. I have a 2 year old and a 5 year old who often fight me on chores. There are times when I don't know what I should be asking of them, but this gives me a great guideline.
Thank you again.
-- Amber (PisceanMam from Swap-Bot for the Followers Please! swap)
I am so incredibly glad that you blog about you experiences a a foster parent. I worked in a residential home for a couple of years and met many foster parents and many children that needed an deserved amazing foster parents such as yourself. You are a blessing to this world and I am thankful for you. I am now a dedicated follower and look forward to hearing about your journey!
ReplyDeleteBecca (springknitter/BPositive) from swap-bot