What should I be getting my 3yo to do?

[SparklePffftBANG]

Around the house? He is 3 1/2. For example I ahve started asking him to put his dirty clothes in the washing basket, what else along those lines can he help with?

Someone once said that they couldn't get their teenagers to help around the house.The response was it is too late to get teenagers to START helping round the house,it should have been started when they were young.So I think you are just right to get some input now.
Bringing their plate/cup to the dishwasher?
Tidying up their toys.
Putting their pyjamas/clothes in laundry basket.
Hanging up their coat.
And also helping you with some bigger jobs...putting away the shopping/laundry/washing.Just so they know what work needs to be done to keep the house nice for everyone.
Hmmmm,good advice,must start using it myself....

Thanks :)
Yes, he does do the toy thing, but maybe not as consistently as he could - sometimes it's quicker and easier to get them to bed then whizz round for 10 mins, but he's never going to get any better at it if that's the attitude :)
Cup and plate to dishwasher is a good one
TBH he does help with shopping away, as he loves carrying the bags from the boot to the house -so maybe he's already doing more than I think!
Could definitely get him helping with sorting the washing (just sorting into piles of his, DD's or ours) thanks.

How about helping with vacuuming (esp if you have a cylinder vacuum or a dustbuster). Ds (also 3.5) entertains himself for a good while with that.

And dusting and polishing (an art I've recently rediscovered after 15 years of being a complete slattern). Let him loose with a feather duster?

Do you have a garden? Raking up leaves is a good one. Beware of weeding tho if you have prize bulbs planted.

"Helping" to wash the car is always a favourite.

Helping to cook... putting toppings on pizzas...

Bear in mind you'll end up re-doing many of these jobs yourself for the first, oh.... 10 years, but we're instilling good habits while we can!

Its also good for them to match up pairs of socks and put away the cutlery in the drawer as it helps their learning.

DD is 3.5 I expect her to:

tidy up her toys after she's played with them
clean up any mess she makes (with help)
help to tidy her room
put dirty clothes in the wash basket
get herself ready for bed
choose clean clothes for the morning and put them out
get ready for nursery on her own (I help with teeth and hair)

My ds is 3.3 and loves to help around the house (his brother on the other hand )

He does the following

puts toys away
straightens his bed
clothes in laundry basket
folds clothes out of the tumble dryer (with me)
cooking (with me!)
sweeps the floor (his favourite!)
putting things in the bin

I have also found him in the bathroom cleaning the bath with an entire bottle of shampoo

I expect DS to make a reasonable effort to tidy up after himself.
He puts toys away when he's finished, though we do help too.
He takes cups etc to the kitchen when he's finished with them.
Puts dirty clothes in the washing basket.
Puts his rubbish (used tissues, wrappers etc) in the bin.
Hands me his coat to hang up (he can't reach the peg) rather than dropping it on the floor when he takes it off.

Those things are important and non-negiotiable. I want him to understand that he is responsible for clearing up after himself and that Mummy/Daddy do not wait on him!

He also loves to "help" with anything and everything that I'm doing but he's more of a hindrance! But I do involve him in putting washing away, gardening, dusting (actually, he's pretty good at that now!) and cooking.

yes he could straighten his bed too. Hanging coat up is an interesting one, we just put them on the banister which involves him hanging off halfway up the stairs :o Think I will just ask him to put it neatly on the sofa arm.

He does dress himself etc, wasn't really counting that, but I suppose it does count.

Will remember the matching socks, arranging cutlery thing

Thanks everyone :)

just to warn you, re: teenagers...

my two LOVED helping out when they were little, and would wash floors and windows with gusto (slave-driver mum!)

as they got older, "helping" got less and less appealing, and now at 13 and 11, it is like pulling teeth!!!!

even if you start them early, don't expect it to last!

Well at least I'll get a few years of domestic work from them :)