Hi there,
DD is 5 in June and is generally quite 'babied' and DH and I are both guilty of it.
But she is mature for her age and could very well cope with some little jobs in the house and would actually really enjoy it.
She rarely plays in her room so it's not very often untidy but I will start encouraging her to make her bed in the morning - however she is very small for her age and her bed is quite high so she wouldn't be able to reach the other side. But I will ask her to make it anyway.
She also puts her clothes in the washing basket when she takes them off. But what else could she do? She can't reach any of the kitchen cupboards even with a step so not really anything she could do in there...
We do have two dogs so I wonder whether she could feed them in the evening. Also I'm wondering about putting her clothes away once they've been washed and ironed.
DH and I both work FT so little things will help all of us I think. She used to take her breakfast things out to the kitchen when she's finished eating but doesn't do that anymore. Maybe I should encourage it again...
Anything else?
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Little jobs for my nearly 5 year old DD to encourage a little bit of independence
Katnisscupcake · 11/03/2014 12:23
Thank you Goldmandra and Juneau.
I can tick the dressing/undressing, she already does that. And unfortunately Vacuuming is out because we have a Dyson and she is only the size of a 3 year old - bless her - so she wouldn't be able to push it... Might be worth buying her own little dustpan and brush though, she might enjoy doing that!
Like the pairing the socks and the putting things in the recycling though, she can do both of those things! 
Thank you Peter, she puts her coat and shoes away in the garage already, although can't reach to put her coat on the peg, but lays it on top of the chest freezer, which is close enough!!
Laying the table I think she could do Sunny but the wiping could be tricky as her head doesn't actually reach our dining table - she could kneel up on a chair though. I'm sure she'll find a way 
.
DD is 3 but a very tall/clever 3
She puts her shoes and coat away
Clothes in washing baskets
Loads and unloads washing machine
Hoovers
Cleans the bath
and various others I cant think of right now.
She loves helping with housework so has always been included in many of my jobs.
Wont tidy her bedroom though 
Bibbity, thank you, helping with the washing is another good one. I leave the baking to DH because I am very precious about my cakes (hence my name... ).
Sponge, sounds like you've got it made!! DD is only 94cms so couldn't reach into the bath or push the hoover around. Anything she can do with a step is achievable!!
OOoh skirting boards givemeaclue, I never thought of that - she could definitely reach those!! 
Shopping she helps get out of the bag and passes to me. Gardening she can start doing now. No way she could peg out washing, she wouldn't even reach it with a step . Dusting she enjoys though.
Circle, DD has 3 of my orchid plants on her window sill, I may give her the sole task of looking after them!! (Although I will help her with the scissors when it comes to chopping the old stems down). That way they can be her Orchid plants!
She's also helping DH grow some chillis on the kitchen window-sill .
We started talking this morning about the little things she could help with. She's excited about doing the dinner for the dogs in the evening (although reminded me that even with a step she can't reach the sink and needs to add water to the food - so I said I'd leave a small jug of water out for her) and she's keen to start taking her cups and plates out.
Plus she has a friend for tea tonight so she's going to lay the table.
My little boy loves doing housework more than i do 
I usually leave a bit of washing up for him to do (cutlery/cups/plastic bowls) although granted i do end up re-doing some of it
He loads up the washing machine, puts the liquid in, sets the dial and turns it on (this is good training)
On the rare occasions i have a deep clean he is incharge of doors - i usually give him a spong or some wipes and he then goes and cleans the doors (i then do the top where he can't reach)
He sweeps up
He puts away clothes in drawers and in wash basket
When meals are finished he scrapes off food and puts his plate in the sink
He even used his "initiative" recently and poured my new bottle of toner down the toilet because he was cleaning the toilet!!!!
I am merely training him for when he's older so i can sit around drinking wine so he can look after himself
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