Little Helping Hands

I can’t even begin to say how many age appropriate chores for children charts I have saved on my Pinterest board. I collect them like some people collect coins, even if they all mostly say the same thing. I don’t even know why I collect them because although they have a good guideline, I am aware of what my son is capable of helping me with and what he is not.

He is luckily at the age where all he wants to do is help, not something that will always last, so I let him. We dust and wash windows and empty the dishwasher. And even though he can’t talk we have a blast. We play music and dance and it is such a great bonding experience that I can do with my little toddler. So why would I try to just pawn these chores off on him to do alone as he got older? I would miss out on conversations we could have and memories we could make.

Growing up, my family didn’t do much family work, but the prophets have advised that this is one of the best ways to strengthen and teach your families. There is something special about the mundane work that just makes children chatty. So for now I’ll continue having small dance parties with my toddler and hope my husband joins in so that we can set a better example of family work that can continue as my son grows up.

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Bahr, K. S., Manwaring, K., Loveless, C., & Bahr, E. B. (2016). The meanings and blessings of family work. In A. J. Hawkins, D. C. Dollahite, & T. W. Draper (Eds.), Successful marriages and families: Proclamation principles and research perspectives (pp. 213-224). Provo: Brigham Young University.

#familywork #littlehelpinghands