Set up a task list (with to-do’s for both of you)

The little helper is always emulating me in actions and words. The other day, she recited word-for-word an entire conversation we usually have and then burst out laughing.

“Daddy, can I have a piece of candy?”
She deepens her voice and mimics me, “Do you think you should have it before dinner?”
“Noooo,” she says sweetly.
With a deep voice again, “Then why do you ask, if you already know?”
Giggles. And I can’t help but join in.

My daughter likes to help me cook and she loves to bake. She has her little step ladder she keeps in the kitchen for just this purpose. If nothing else, she likes to stand there and watch. So it was no tough task to get her started in helping me in the kitchen. This graduated into a task list. She’s been doing things like setting the table for years, (even if it started with mismatch utensils piled together on the table), and at the mature age of 6, she is capable of much more. So we compiled a list with pictures and checkboxes comprising of 18 things to do every day. Eighteen?

A daily list which hangs off the fridge door visually illustrates expected and shared workload for all. This way, you don’t feel like you’re doing everything and she gets used to contributing with minimal prompting from you

In the morning, she’s expected to make her bed, feed her pet fish, set and clear the table after breakfast, wash her face, brush her teeth, get dressed and gather her backpack for school. That is 8 to-do’s already. Pretty normal routine!

Just so I don’t appear to be a complete dictator, I balance things out with a daddy column to put my chores on the list as well. I have to make my bed, make breakfast, shave, brush teeth, get dressed and grab my backpack for work. When we come home at the end of the day, the last half of task list which includes meal time, cello practice, wash up, story and bedtime, etc.

The trick is having a list so that you both finish the most regular and basic chores without feeling the daily mad scramble. The bonus is that a daily list which hangs off the fridge door visually illustrates expected and shared workload for all. This way, you don’t feel like you’re doing everything and she gets used to contributing with minimal prompting from you. At the end of each day, we tear the page off the fridge whether we finish the entire list or not. Every morning, it’s a brand new start.