Let's Talk Responsibilities

With school starting in a couple weeks, Ryder turning four, and a new baby soon joining our family, I wanted to really get started on a housekeeping plan. Before this pregnancy I had a pretty good system down. Once morning sickness and pregnancy fatigue kicked in those cleaning duties took a backseat. It's a fact, there's tired and then there's pregnancy tired. I never really got that second trimester energy surge this time around, but third trimester nesting has most definitely kicked into high gear lately! I've been wanting to minimize and declutter every space in the house.

I knew from the start of summer that I really wanted to get Ryder more involved in taking on some of the housekeeping duties. He's always "helped" me with dishes, vacuuming, laundry, and simple cleaning tasks. But I really wanted him to have a few simple responsibilities that were his and his alone to get done daily and weekly. I really hate using the word chores. Nobody likes chores. When I call my own work a chore, I usually procrastinate until the very last possible second. I also want to keep his job list short, simple, and sweet. I am starting him off with the things he actually enjoys helping me out with most. Every night after dinner and before bath time he will put the silverware and utensils away. I make sure to remove all of the sharp objects first. He does this while I load the dishwasher with the dirty dishes. We do it together and we usually sing songs or compete to be the first one done.

For years when I would wash laundry Ryder has always wanted to help me. He loves loading the washer and dryer and helping me fold and put laundry away. I do laundry twice a week currently. On Sundays I wash all of the towels, bedding, and blankets. On Wednesdays I wash all of our clothing. I know this will double once the baby arrives so Ryder's new job is to bring in his laundry basket on Wednesday mornings to be washed and help me start the loads. Then once I get his laundry folded he is to put it away in the correct places in his dresser.

Other tasks that are expected to be done daily are picking up his toys at night, taking his dishes to the sink after meal times, and making sure his room is clean before bedtime. We usually turn clean up time into a game. Right now our favorite is to turn on fun dance music and dance while we pick up. During the day we get out no more than three toys out at once. If one toy has a lot of pieces we stick to just that toy. When he gets tired of those toys we pick up. This makes it a lot less intimidating when it comes to getting it all put away at night. I also try to switch toys every couple weeks to keep things fun. Although lately he's been sticking to the same few toys all month long.

Being a family means being a team player. Each of us plays a role in helping our family run smoothly. Over time I will add to his list of responsibilities and maybe switch them out for others. For now, we always do our work together. It makes it way more fun and makes it go by faster. What are some jobs that your preschoolers have at home? Do you reward them for their work?