Simple Chore Ideas for Your Baby (12 months+)
By the time your baby turns a year old (Happy Anniversary to you being a parent too btw, if it’s your first born), he/she is most likely able to sit up, be mobile and understands a lot more than what they can express. Toddlers innately love to help, and they’d feel a whole lot more independent, capable and a belonging sense of unit to the household if you let them!
So without further ado, here are some chore ideas where you can let them help around the house:
1. Throwing their diapers/trash into the laundry/trash.
Babies just love to throw everything around. Their toys, their clothes, their food, so why not let them use this particular skill and have them something they can actually throw? The operative word for them to learn here is the word ‘throw’ and they’d gladly throw all things in random places. 😆
2. Putting the laundry in the washing machine.
Doing the laundry is a really easy practical life skill where they can also freely exercise the word ‘throw’. Babies are also fascinated by the cause and effect of them pushing buttons, especially when the water starts to flow when they press start. This is a surely enjoyable practical life skill for them to watch and execute.
3. Picking up their toys.
Although babies are experts in leaving some amazing destructive patterns on their wake, they are capable of picking up if we consistently let them practice. Be careful of disturbing them during their intense ‘work flow’ however, and wait for them to catch your eye or give you their attention when you want them to pick up their toys that are outside their supposed work space.
4. Wiping the floor.
This is another fun skill for them to learn. Have them observe first the proper way of wiping from left to right or what have you, and they’ll be gladly snatching the towel from you to wipe themselves. Just don’t expect so much effectiveness in their wiping skills and that they may end up wiping using their entire body sometimes, but letting them practice is always the key here.
5. Returning their clothes to the drawers.
After their bath time, you might want to guide them to their dresser where they can ‘choose’ their own outfit. This gives them the association of where clothes should be returned after being folded. They may not necessarily get the placing correctly and they may end up throwing the clothes all around. But with enough practice and repetition, they’ll get it (eventually).
A gentle reminder though, your baby wouldn’t be able to do these ‘chores’ as effectively and as smoothly as you want the job to be done if you did it yourself. That’s ok! Learn to give you and your baby grace in this learning opportunity. Trust that gentle and firm repetition, partnered with practice will (eventually) pay off. Have fun cleaning with your little ones! 🤍
