Participating in Household Chores - How to Teach Your Children?
When children are eleven to twelve years old, or even younger, parents can
begin teaching them how to sew, knit, wash clothes, iron, wash dishes, and
fold and put away clothing. They can also be involved in doing chores around
the yard and in helping with younger children by reading and playing with
them.
Teaching children to cook when they are young is very valuable training;
however, it is better to wait until they are older before teaching them how to
cut vegetables, as their coordination is usually not well enough developed to
handle a knife properly. Once children are taught how to use a knife, they will
often try to do it without supervision and this can be dangerous. Put knives
out of the reach of younger children. It is difficult to provide constant
supervision for one child when trying to cook and care for other children. It is
better to wait until children are eight or nine before teaching them to cut
vegetables. Younger children can learn how to make things that are safer and
easier and do not require using a sharp knife. Children around the age of two
can also be shown how to wash their dishes after meals.