Time Management Tip 16: Include the Kids In The Housework

Include your kids in the housework

(Links in this post are affiliate links. I will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking those links. See my disclosure page for more information)

One of my favorite biblical models of a time efficient woman is found in Proverbs 31. I once found her example overwhelming until one day part of a verse jumped off the page “…and plan the days work for her servant girls” (proverbs 31:15b)

I immediately thought, I could get all that done if I had servants too. Then it struck me I have 3.

I prefer the word “helpers” for my children than “servants”. They help me get a lot done, and in trade for training them I am ensuring that they will enter adulthood with the skills of managing a home tucked in their tool belts.

My kids are currently 10, 12, and 16, and they do at least 50% of the housework around the home. I could train them to do more, but I like to keep a good balance of work and play in their lives.

My biggest downfall in this area was waiting so long. My youngest was 5 and my eldest 11 when I started training them to help. Knowing what I know now if I could go back and do it over I would have them help years earlier.

Yes taking time to train them does slow you down temporarily but the rewards of instilling good work ethic into them far out way the training time.

I encourage you to enter “age appropriate chores” into the Pinterest search box and start researching just how much your children could be helping you and then start training them.

Here is an article with a free printable age appropriate chore chart that I found in seconds after punching the above into the Pinterest search engine.

Within just a few short weeks of training I promise you will start seeing your chore time diminish and your children’s work abilities improve.