Chores for toddler twins

I really could title this "Chores for toddlers", but seeing as this about twins, you get the point right?! When it comes to chores, I force ask my children ever so politely to help with things around the house. I thought I would share with you how we do chores. Yes, even the twins help out.

Laundry is one of the things that all the kids love to help with. The girls are old enough to actually do their own, so they do. They have a laundry basket in their room, and when it is full, they wash them. I do supervise however. With the 3 year old and the twins, it is more of them being in there. They like to help put the clothes in the washer or dryer. They like helping set the cycles, and the dryer times. They are learning now how to do it, just be helping me in little ways.

Kitchen duty is something I take seriously. I am not their maid. Even if it may seem that way! My children all know that they clear their own dishes, and help pick up dropped food from the twins. Since I use reusable plastic plates and bowls for the kids ($1 at Wal-Mart in a variety of colors) it makes it easy for me to relax and let them bring their plates to the sink. I am working on teaching them to clean out the plates, but that usually turns into a mess all over the kitchen floor!

Cleaning in general is where I actually dole out "chores". Different days means different areas that the 8,7, and 3 year old have to work on. The twins, and this is where this post has been going all along, pick up their toys, any books they have taken out, and any paper they find on the floor. Yes, toddlers can clean! And they even find it fun if mom/dad make it that way. We play basketball with legos and soft balls (try to ring the basket), race to see who can get to the piece of paper first, and read a story during the book pick up.

In my opinion I think that starting kids off early with a few simple tasks as chores starts buiding up for later when they have real chores. Make sure you have a reward system in place! That way they look forward to the reward and will do the "chore" just to make sure they get the reward!