More Ideas to Help Your Children Help You

We've said it before, and we'll say it again: Make kitchen chores family chores. Sharing the workload instills an invaluable work ethic and makes easy work of meal preparation, table setting, and table clearing. One trick to getting your younger children involved is to make tasks doable for little fingers. Here are five ideas to do just that!

Clip and paste magazine pictures of items stored in low cabinets--such as dishes, cereal boxes, etc.-to help your preschooler learn where things go.
Keep the children's "kitchen stuff"--glasses, dishes, and even cereal boxes--within easy reach so they can help themselves as much as possible.
For table setting, post a checklist of everything needed on the table for each meal on the inside door of a low cabinet. In addition to dishes and cutlery, don't forget salt and pepper shakers, filled water glasses, cut-up vegetables, etc.
Baskets are easier (and safer) than trays for children to use when clearing the table.
Teach your toddler to set a table by coloring in shapes on a plain white paper place mat. Draw the shape of a fork, knife, spoon, plate, glass, and so on, and then give your little one plastic utensils to put in their proper places. Soon your child will want to set the table for everyone.