You will never hear me bragging that I'm the best parent around, but I do think I'm pretty good at getting my children to help with housework. They know how to do several simple tasks and have a few chores that they do regularly. In the interest of getting YOU a little help, here are my suggestions for encouraging small children to help out around the house. (I have no advice for those of you who have teenagers, though!)
1. Start early. The younger your child is, the more likely they are to think it's fun to help you with housework.
2. Don't expect too much, too soon. Be sure to choose tasks that are very simple, and appropriate for your child's developmental level, to avoid frustration.
3. Don't expect your child's help to actually be "helpful". At first, it will seem as though you could get the job done much more quickly if you just did it yourself, and that's probably true. But an investment in time now will pay off with real help later.
4. Be complimentary. Praise your child's work, and resist the temptation to re-do it yourself to "fix" it.
5. Assign each child a simple job that can be their own responsibility each day. In our house, Radar feeds the cat and The Princess feeds the fish.
6. Try to convince the kids that helping out is a privilege. For example: "Yes, I think now that you are 5 and you are tall enough, you can help me put the dishes in the cabinets."
7. Use rewards. For example: "If everyone helps get the laundry put away, maybe we could go to the park for a little while."
8. Use logical consequences when the kids are reluctant. For example: "If Mommy is the only one cleaning up the toys, it will take a lot longer than it would if we all worked together. And then we won't have time to play that game you want to play."
9. Say yes! If your children ask to help you with something you are working on, figure out a simple way for them to participate. This can be hard to do when you are in a hurry, but it's important to take advantage of their interest.
10. Have fun! Listen to fun music while you work, or use that time to talk about your child's day at school.