Parenting becomes tiresome when we have to do everything alone. Working, giving baths, providing dinner, and cleaning are just a few things we do without help. But do we have to do it all alone? Not at all! By getting your child to help with tasks such as washing dishes, you’ll make your load a little lighter and maybe be able to squeeze in some “me time.” To help you out, we’ve provided a few ways to get your child to help wash dishes.
3 parenting tips to get your child to help wash dishes.
1. Come up with a plan.
Create a digital chore chart rewarded by a universal wishlist like Wishfinity to help delegate dish duty. By doing this, you are getting your child to help wash dishes and teaching them about the responsibility of cooking and cleaning. Furthermore, you won’t have to limit this to dish duty. After a long day of work and a fair amount of time spent cooking dinner, you can get your children to help clear the table.
2. Do it together.
Have you ever noticed how your child wants to help you vacuum, do laundry, or bake? As a part of their growing independence, young children enjoy helping their parents do things around the house. Take advantage of this by teaching them early to help wash dishes. While they may be too young to do it independently, you can get them to help you dry dishes (maybe stick to plastic). You can also ask them to put things away that are within their reach. As they grow older and bigger, you can increase their load a bit and allow them to wash dishes.
3. Show them how to get it done.
Wanting your child to help wash dishes is a natural desire. But how can we expect them to do something they aren’t familiar with doing? Well, the best way to get them to do something is to show them how. Rather than ask him to hop right in and take over dish duty, begin by asking him to help dry dishes. The next time you do dishes, ask him to watch you do it so he can learn. After that, ask him to do it while you dry dishes and watch how he’s doing it. If you notice things aren’t being cleaned properly, tell him, ‘Great job! A good trick I’ve learned is…’ and show him what you do to get things cleaned. You’ll avoid discouraging him and show him the ‘correct’ way to do it.
