Making Chores Fun for Children

According to a study by Brown University School of Medicine, children who helped with household chores had higher persistence and increased levels of emotional wellbeing and happiness. Doing household chores helps your child learn responsibility, develop a sense of self-worth, and feel useful.

Here are some ways to help make chores fun for children.

• Play together with your child’s stuffed animals as you both make the bed
• Set a timer for ten minutes and see how much tidying you can get done
• Put on your child’s favorite music and sing along as you clean
• Play “basketball” using the hamper and dirty laundry
• Create a cleaning-based scavenger hunt – instead of collecting certain items, your child should find them and put them where they belong
• Make a colorful and visual chores list, and place a fun sticker on each child’s chore as they’re completed
• Children can get bored easily, so change the chore list on a regular basis
• Tell stories to each other as you clean, or ask about your child’s favorite books or movies
• Encourage your child to sort clean clothing items by color
• Play pretend while cleaning – for example, pretend that you are robots picking up toys and putting them away
• Give your child ownership over a certain task that they are in charge of, such as putting away the cutlery, or arranging the shoes at the front door
• Ask for your child’s advice and feedback as they do their chores, letting them think about other ways to do the task

When your child is starting out with household chores, start small, supervise, don’t expect perfection, and stay positive. With these tips, your child will feel more self-sufficient and develop a sense of pride.