Chores for Preschoolers {Perfect for 2 and 3-Year Olds!}
Looking for ideas for chores for 2 (or 3) year olds? This post will give you some great inspiration for how to get your preschooler doing chores!
My kid is two and he does chores.
Sometimes, when I mention that to people, I get a bit of a shocked look.
But…why shouldn’t he? He loves to help, he’s a little sponge just waiting to soak up some more knowledge, and I love keeping him busy. So, chores are a perfect solution!
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As a special education teacher, I’m big on teaching life skills to Jackson from a very early age. He will know how to do his own laundry, he will know how to cook, and I will do everything in my power to make sure that he learns everything he needs to be totally independent. I’ve learned over my years teaching that kids are often capable of so much more than we might give them credit for, so I always try to assume Jackson is capable of completing chores that I might normally reserve for older kids.
Chores for 2-Year-Olds
Here are 7 chores that Jackson is currently doing on a regular basis at two years old:
- Feeding the dogs. This is usually a bit of a mess, but he’s gotten to the point where he can do it independently. We keep our dog food in a big plastic container in the bottom of the pantry, and he’s able to grab the plastic cup that we keep in it, fill it up, and transfer it to the dog bowls. He doesn’t quite understand that Hadley needs a different amount of food than Cullen or when to stop adding more food to the bowl, but he does a shockingly good job at doing this by himself!
- Cleaning his room. Jackson knows where all of his clothes go and is able to help me put them away (he can’t hang anything up yet, but can put things in baskets and drawers). He also puts his toys and books away and helps me get everything nice and straightened up in his room each evening before bed. (UPDATE: Here’s a post I recently wrote now that Jackson is 4 years old – there are some great ideas on keeping an older preschooler’s room clean!)
- Helping with laundry. This is probably his favorite task, but it’s also the one that he can help the least. He loves to put clothes into the washer (he can just barely reach on his tiptoes!) and help me transfer clothes over to the dryer, and he loves to “help” when I put the clean clothes away. Really, I have him do this with me as a good way to keep him occupied while I finish up the laundry (so he isn’t tugging on my leg asking me to play instead), so I don’t mind that he isn’t actually all that helpful.
- Cleaning up after himself. An obvious one, but important nonetheless. Ever since we started separating his toys into different baskets, he has learned that he has to clean up one basket before we take out another. It keeps my house much cleaner and teaches him the importance of cleaning up after yourself! Let’s hope he remembers this skill as he gets older…
- Putting dishes away. Jackson knows where all of his toddler dishes go, and he helps me unload the dishwasher by putting away everything that he can reach. My lower cabinets are a hot mess if you open them, but he’s learning some important skills so I don’t mind (too much). He also loves to take his dirty dishes to the sink after dinner. Sometimes leftover food ends up on the floor, but the dogs aren’t complaining so it’s okay!
- Helping with cooking. Another one where he does very little, but it’s crazy helpful to have him occupied while I cook dinner! I let him squeeze lemons, “cut” vegetables with a butter knife, and help add seasonings, pour things into bowls, etc. He absolutely adores helping with cooking and over time he really has started to learn how to genuinely help with some things. Every once in a while, I try to plan a meal that he can genuinely participate fully in – one night he made nachos for dinner and was so proud of himself!
- Carrying groceries in. When we go shopping, Jackson loves to help carry the grocery bags in! We have to do a bit of manipulating sometimes to make sure we have bags that are light enough for him, but the delight on his face when he runs out to the car shouting “I help! I help!” is absolutely priceless.
Watching Jackson learn how to be helpful around the house and do a few different chores has been one of my favorite parts of him growing up. It is so incredibly fun to see him develop and gain new skills, and I love how proud he is of himself when he is helpful around the house!
What chores do your kids do around the house?
My 2 year old does all of these as well! I truly think he finds value in helping out, which I just love. My only question is – do you preface it with something like “ok it’s time for your chores!” or do you just simply ask him for help? I often wonder if I should be associating the word “chore” with these tasks? Or if it even matters?
I don’t put a lot of thought into whether I use the specific word or not! Generally, I just say something along the lines of “Ok! It’s time to help with ____”
My 2 year old does all of these as well! She also loves to dust her craft table and chairs and “vacuum the floor” ( after I do it). It’s funny because my niece is 6 weeks younger then my daughter and still has everyone pick up after her as well as not lift a finger and you can see the difference in personality as well. I love the proud look my daughter has once she’s helped complete a task and now she even picks up after my husband lol
Love your ideas here and my toddler love to help! Shared this post on my recent blog about toddler chores!
My 18 month old loves to help sort recycling, picks up his toys (sometimes), helps me with laundry, brings in groceries, and loves to “sweep”. He really wants to help dad now the lawn, but I’m so not ready for that. Haha maybe when he’s closer to 10!
Hahaha won’t it be great when he can mow the lawn, though?!
I loved reading this. My 4 and 2 year old kiddos do all of these things. It is actually really helpful. My mom friends always talk about how they hate cleaning up the toys everyday. I don’t have that problem because my kids do it! They know if they mess it up, they have to clean it up. Thanks for the great read
Glad you enjoyed it!
Love this! I’m with you, I think it’s never too early to start! Our 16 month old closes the dishwasher and wipes his tray clean. At this stage it isn’t super helpful, but he looks SO proud of himself every time! It’s the sweetest. Thank you for additional tips as he gets older!
Love that, Lexie – isn’t it so sweet at this age when they’re so excited to help?!
My 2 year old does most of these things too. I love it. Both kids also help unload the dishwasher. The 1 year old hands me plates and takes out the silverware to hand to the 2 year old to put away (she stands on a chair).
That’s great! Jackson hasn’t quite got the hang of the dishwasher yet…he always tries to put things back in as I take them out. 🙂
I love your post! How awesome that your two year old does so many things on his own! I worked at a preschool 3-5yr and saw how truly capable kids are! I currently have a 14 month old and we’re expecting number two. I’m hoping that I can gradually get him to start being a little more independent in picking up toys and putting away clean/dirty clothes. Do you have any suggestions on how to encourage picking up at such a young age? Or maybe by around 18 months?
Thanks, Lauren! For us, it was really just a matter on capitalizing on that early toddler desire to be involved in EVERYTHING. I found that Jackson was dying to be a part of everything I did, and if I found little ways that he could be involved, he was a lot more likely to show interest in the future. I made sure to make a huge deal about it when he put his clothes or toys away, and the praise was really all it took for him. Once he got the hang of it, we also established a very hard and fast rule that if he wants to get new toys out he has to put the old ones up first. At 2 1/2 he still sometimes needs help putting them away if it’s a lot of toys, but he’s generally very helpful!
Also, I’ll add that Jack started throwing away his own diapers, putting his clothes in the dirty clothes hamper, and picking up some toys in his room around 13 months, as soon as he started walking. So it’s definitely not too early!
My two year old loves to wash dishes! He pulls up the chair and rinses off the soap. He can to a great job with utensils.
He also likes to help wipe down surfaces. So while I clean the counters, he has a spray bottle with water and he washes whatever he wants (the walls, lower cabinets, or sometimes he climbs on a chair and does the table).
Cleaning the toilet is a favorite, too. We take turns with the brush scrubbing. My toilet has never been cleaner because he asks almost every day to “wash potty.”
Now that his baby sister is here, he also likes to help throw away diapers, get her clothes to wear, find a pacifier, etc.
Two year olds love to help! It’s great to see other kiddos who are helping out so much.
That’s so cute! I’ve never been brave enough to let Jack help with the toilet, but he loves his spray bottle filled with water – he’ll “clean” everything!
My 19 month old loves to help with many of those chores too!
My kids do chores as well. They are in charge of clearing their spots after meals. They also help with laundry. Another chore kids are great for is cleaning baseboards and doors. They are the perfect height and it saves my back!
Great idea!
Did you do anything specific to get him to put things away when he’s done playing? I have tried to get my 23 month old to clean up (we use separate bins for specific toys as well) but he doesn’t do it. He does go back and forth between toys a lot (hello short attention span!) so I usually leave things out when he’s awake and clean during nap and bedtime. But I would really like to get him cleaning up after himself! He helps feed our dog as well…he can’t quite do it on his own due to the location of our dog’s food, but he loves helping!
In our house, the rule is that he can only have one basket or set of toys out at a time. So, if he’s playing with the trains, he has to put those back up before we’ll get out Legos. And if he’s playing with balls, they have to go up before he can go color. Sometimes it requires some patience on your end while you wait out some crying while they learn the expectations, but he’ll learn! As a matter of fact, as I type this Jackson is requesting to watch Frozen and I’m waiting/reminding him that he has to put his toys up before we can start the movie!