Guest Post: Teaching Kids through Summer House Chores

In the summer parents often find their children home a lot more than during the school year. This frequently creates tension because parents have their routine, work, or lists of things to do and the kids need attention.

That’s why whenever possible having the kids do some of the chores around the house is a great way to keep them busy. Of course, this may take a little coaxing and parent-child diplomacy but in the end there’s an opportunity to not just keep the home orderly but teach a few things about the world through house cleaning :

• Taking out the trash: Ok, this may seem like a quick chore but it can involve a lot more than just tying up a bag and tossing it inside an exterior barrel. Parents can teach kids how to divide up trash into landfill, compost, reusables, and recyclable material. They can even ask the child to set up a system for the family that will make this a more efficient process.

• Washing dishes: If you have a dishwasher then this simply boils down to loading, unloading, and returning dishes and cutlery to their respective places. However, if you’re doing dishes in the sink parents can teach about how to use as little water as possible and why it’s important to conserve.

• Separate and fold laundry: When there are kids there always seems to be endless laundry. By separating articles of clothing that belong to family members a child can learn appreciation in how to handle other people’s belongings.

• Sweep the floor: Sweeping is a skill, which like bike riding, once you get it you never forget. Nevertheless, it takes time and kids will only learn how to sweep well by doing it over and over. It’s a lesson in persistence.

• Watering the garden/plants: Feeding other forms of life is a special gift but you have to know how much to give certain plants. This is the perfect place to show kids when a little is a lot and when more is truly essential.   

   

• Window cleaning: This can be done with a damp sponge, squeegee, some paper towels and newspaper. It can teach about how when windows are dirty it blocks potential heat that can warm a home in the winter and how when screens get filled with dust particles and wind blows the dust inside it affects the quality of indoor air, which has the potential to cause respiratory problems and other ailments.

Jakob Barry writes for Networx.com. He covers various eco-friendly home improvement topics including carpet cleaning and maid services. Thank you so much Jakob for another great article that you shared here.