Your Kids Can Help Too, You Know!

I can't even wrap my head around not asking my son to help. It seems crazy to me. What about you? What's your take? Do you ask your little kids to help? Do your tweens and teens have a chore list?

Recently, TODAY Tastemaker and child development expert Dr. Deborah Gilboa encouraged parents to bring chores back to children's lives.

Her TEDx Talk on the same subject, “The Expectation Gap,” discussed how some parents believe their kids are too busy with school and extracurricular obligations for additional chores. Gilboa's assertions reflect the results of a recent national phone survey of 1,001 Americans conducted by Braun Research on behalf of Whirlpool in which 82 percent of respondents said they regularly did chores as children, but only 28 percent give their own children chores now.

Gilboa says that requiring chores helps produce children who will be “problem solvers of good character.” But which chores are appropriate for children at which ages? Gilboa has resources on her website, and she gave TODAY Parents a shorthand guide:

18 mos-3 years: “This is the ‘me do it myself!' age, so take advantage of it!” Gilboa says. “You'll rarely need to ask a preschooler twice if they'd like to do a big-kid job for you.” Gilboa cautions against giving this age group a chore that parents might feel compelled to follow behind them and redo in their footsteps: “That would be a quick way to teach them that they might as well not help at all,” she said. “Let them do one part, like hold the dustpan while you sweep.”

I'm loving the “me do it myself” age. He's so eager to help with whatever I ask him to do. I'm obviously not at all looking forward to it ending. Lol…

You can read the rest of this article on Today Parents. When you're finished, leave a comment and share your thoughts on kids and chores.