When kids are around 4 years old, they love the idea of cleaning and can actually be helpful too! Today I am going to share some chores for 4 year olds, but these aren’t exclusive to age 4, my 5 year old does these too.
My kids are close in age (4&5) and for a while it was constant mess making. While our house still gets messy, it is so much nicer to not have to work alone to clean it.
This is probably the only part of them growing up that I’m excited about. The older they get, the cleaner our house should be and the less I will have to do to maintain it all.
I don’t currently have chore charts or assigned jobs for the kids. They enjoy helping and luckily don’t need to be incentivized just yet. I’m sure, as they get older and the jobs start to seem less fun chores will be a great way to earn some allowance.
How to come up with chores for 4 year olds:
I find it best to make the chores into small tasks. For example instead of “clean your room,” break it down (put away toys, make your bed, etc).
Also, deep cleaning is perfect for young kids. I’m talking about those cleaning tasks that might not be a top priority like dusting or sanitizing door knobs–it’s actually a lot of fun for them. Plus, it’s not hard and allows me to focus on the bigger jobs while they’re busy.
Easy chores for 4 or 5 year olds
- Water plants
- Feed the pets
- Wipe down door knobs and light switches
- Dust shelves
- Clean hand prints/marks off walls
- Empty bathroom trashcans
- Sweep the front porch
- Wipe down kitchen table
- Wipe down coffee table
- Clean mirrors and windows (using windex is really exciting for them for some reason)
- Empty utensils from dishwasher (no knives)
- Sort and fold socks
- Fold wash cloths
- Hang their shirts on hangers
- Use the vacuum attachment to vacuum the couch and under each cushion
- Mop the floors (we have a swiffer sweeper which makes this really easy)
- Wipe down sinks in bathrooms
- Load the washing machine
- Make their bed
- Clean up toys (their least favorite chore)
Like I said before, we don’t have chore charts or assigned chores yet. They are responsible for keeping their room clean, but other than that we just let them help out when they want to. Whenever they see us cleaning, they ask if they can help.
As they get older, we will make certain cleaning tasks part of their daily/weekly routine.