Age-Appropriate Chores For the Winter Months

Everyone in the family has the responsibility to help keep the home running smoothly. Obviously there are some chores very young children can't do like shoveling snow. What are the age-appropriate chores for the winter months?

There are many benefits of giving children chores to do. It helps them learn responsibility, time management, and helps them play a contributing role to the success of the home. Usually younger children are eager to help out. It's only when they get older that they start fussing and being slow in getting their chores done.

Toddlers as young as two or three love to do what their mommy and daddy do, so it's a great time to enlist their help and begin to teach them how to do chores. You might as well take advantage of their willingness to help while you can because it won't last for long. Of course, you'll want to supervise them as they're just learning, but it's good for them to learn the proper way to do chores as early as you can. Children this age can:

* Put their gloves and hats inside their coat pockets so they don't lose them.
* Dry off pets that have come in from outside.

Preschool children still want to be helpful but they want to do things for themselves. Thankfully they're a little older so they don't need quite as much supervision. They can help around the house during the winter months by:

* Sweeping the porch or walkway right by the main door.
* Helping to carry shopping bags into the house.

Early school-age children are at the age that they may not want to help as much. The level of supervision at this age is much less than with the younger children. They can:

* Help take care of and walk the pets out in the yard.
* Take garbage out to the garbage cans outside.
* Sweep the sidewalk leading to the door.

Pre-teens are going to start pushing the boundaries so they may argue about doing chores. At this age your child can:

* Help shovel snow from the sidewalks and driveway.
* Take garbage cans out to the road.
* Help scrape ice from side windows on your vehicle.

Teens are able to do much more without supervision, but they will likely fuss the entire time they're doing their chores. Teens can help out by:

* Shoveling the sidewalks and driveway.
* Depending upon how you heat your home, teens may be given the chore of chopping wood.
* Teens may have their driver's license, so they may be able to help drive if your vehicle gets stuck in the snow.

When the colder weather comes, it's important for everyone in the family to pitch in to do the chores. It's also important for children to learn to help with the success of the household. To be sure everyone is helping, give them age-appropriate chores for the winter months. When it's time for spring cleaning, they'll already be knowledgeable and able to take on their new chores.

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