At What Age Should Children Do Their Own Laundry?

Whether you love or hate doing laundry, this task is always at hand. Even before you are done with one wash there are other dirty clothes gathering. Having your children help with their own laundry sounds like a welcome development. Just when should you teach them how to do it? How can you help them be great at it?

Children are different and they will grow up at different rates. What one child can do at two years, another who is four years may not be able to do it. This means that it is important to understand your child and teach them chores when they can handle them. Here is a general guideline on how to do it, the suitable age, and a few tips that will help you raise responsible kids.

Start as Soon as They Understand Verbal Cues

Toddlers will love helping out in the home and this is the best time to introduce them to laundry duties. This is not to say that you should let a two-year-old load the washer. Absolutely not! Teach them to pick up their clothes after removing them and keep them in the laundry basket. With enough practice, they will soon do it without your instructing them to. You may be creative and use games to help in the teaching process. Playing “fold” with three-year-olds will teach them how to fold simple clothes like handkerchiefs and putting away socks.

By the time your child is four years old, teach them to help bring their dirty clothes to the laundry area and take the basket back. Teach them about safety in the laundry area. For instance, teach them not to play with detergents and the utility sink faucet.

The age of five is a good age to teach a child how to sort out their clothes and keep them in drawers appropriately. They should learn to help with arranging clothes and retrieving them. As they get older and reach six years, teach them to move clothes from the washer to the dryer. They are old enough to understand how to operate the equipment, so start off by showing them how to set up the dryer. Soon they will be able to do it on their own and can help in folding the clothes as well.

By the time your child is eight, it is time to teach them how to use the washing machine. Here you will need to be very patient with them because of all the instructions. Take them one step at a time and you will see progress. As they grow older, introduce them to hand washing and drying clothes, and your job is done. Congratulations!

Why Is It Important?

Parents have a tendency to do everything for their children. This is a bad habit that all parents should strive to beat. Your children will grow up to be adults someday and they need to be ready for all the responsibilities they will have. Teaching them chores at an early age helps them get used to helping and doing duties. It teaches them how to be responsible and take care of their belongings.

You have so much to do as a parent and teaching your children some things they can help out with will save you time. Use this time to do other things you love or even just relax and rest.

Learning to do laundry is as essential as learning personal hygiene. It teaches children to be independent and self-reliant.

Be Patient and Creative

When they are younger all they want to do is spend time helping mom or dad, but as they grow older, they think playing is much cooler than chores. Come up with fun games that will make them fall in love with laundry and general house cleaning.

Teaching children to do laundry is not easy and it will need a lot of patience. It is a gradual process that will take years to teach and turn into a habit. You will need to demonstrate what is to be done, correct mistakes, and cheer achievements. The best part is that once your children understand the concept of doing their laundry this is a skill they will have for the rest of their lives.