Many parents sit around and wonder should kids get an allowance, once they determine an allowance they start to turn to what chores should be attached to the allowance.  Often parents make the mistake of giving young kids an allowance, without having any chores attached to help teach responsibility.  The ideas behind an allowance are to help kids learn about money and responsibilities around the house.  An allowance and chores are essentially a kids first job and venture into the business world and a step towards their independence. 

Young children as young as 2 can start doing some very simple and basic chores.  They are obviously unable to do laundry and load the dishwasher, but there are several things they can do.  For example, a 2 year old can easily bring dirty clothes to the wash area.  They can feed animals with supervision, and pick up their own toys.  When they make a mess, allow them to clean up the majority of the mess themselves. 

A child who is 4 or so can easily help load the washer, open the top and as you sort the clothes they can throw the appropriate clothing into the washer.  I would not recommend allowing them to sort all of the clothing by themselves however unless you enjoy some new color streaks on your clothes.  But if your child has a great sense of colors they can help with the basics of sorting, such as jeans in one pile, and shirts in another.  While a parent or older sibling should double check their work they are capable of doing a lot of great work.

Children are also able to help clear the table and take dirty dishes to the kitchen, as well as helping clear some of their toys from the yard when it’s time to clean the yard to be mowed.  Not all children are as inclined to be happy about chores, but with some work and effort it is possible to find things for your very young child.  Let’s face it, as parents we have so many things to do, we should not be a cleaning slave for our kids child for the rest of their childhood lives. 

Slaving to the needs and desires of your children is not a requirement if you start teaching children about chores early, and stick to simple tasks that they can easily perform with minimal supervision so that they can truly learn the skills necessary.  Remember chores should never be a punishment, they should instead be a way to help teach your child some much needed skills that will grow and expand and help them become functional members of the household and teach them vital skills for them to be successful once they are living on their own.