What kinds of help does your 5yo do around the house?

[Hokulele]

DD is turning 5 next week. She loves to help around the house and I've noticed that she is much more cooperative on days when she feels like she's really helping. Thing is, a lot of the things she asks to do are not really appropriate for her age. Tonight she really wanted to cook the pasta for dinner, but she's just not ready to be next to boiling water!

So what kinds of things does your five year old DC do around the house to help out?

(And, maybe this is a two part question - how do you determine what they are ready for and what is something they really shouldn't do until they are older?)

[Lady Mayapple]

DS1 will be 5 in August. He puts his clothes in the hamper, plates and cups in the sink, trash in the trash can. He also puts his toys back in their appropriate bins or in his closet. I took him to the store yesterday and he helped carry some light bags with me to the car. In the fall, he helps rake the leaves and put them in the leaf bags, and even helps DH bring firewood from the garage into the house, very small pieces of course He wants to help more in the kitchen, but I don't want him around hot stuff or raw meat just yet.

[howdeepistheocean]

My 4 and 5 yr old boys love to help in the house, especially vacuuming.
I figured out a great way to get my 5 yr old out of a pouting miserable mood. I set him to work cleaning the toy room and he fusses/pouts about it for about 5 min, then after about 10min he's actually singing while working...and tells me he loves working...WOW.
When he feels kinda miserable he actually asks me if there is work to do...I really think it helps kids feel useful, and helps to "work off" their bad mood.
So what my boys do is pick up rooms, vacuum, put away garbage and compost, empty table, dry dishes, clean up shoes/porch area, make their bed, and put their laundry away. They're very helpful, and I think it's because we just make working together a normal part of our day. Work can be a lot of fun!
Oh, and my 5 yr old son always want to help cook...which is really too advanced for him as well. Sometimes I will let him do something simple, like pour in the measurements for certain recipes...but nothing around the stove just yet.

[wookie]

My 4yo LOVES to vacuum. I set him up on the carpet with the narrow hose on the vacuum and he'll suck up miniscule bits of stuff for a good 15-20 mins. He gets to decompress and I get a spotless carpet. Win-win.

As for cooking, I don't let him near the stove but he helps to mix, spread, crack eggs, work the pepper mill, that sort of thing. He helps to pick up toys, wipe the table, water the plants, load the washer/dryer, unload the spoon rack from the dishwasher.

Disclaimer: Although it sounds like I get him to "work" a lot, it's always if *he* wants to. Except for picking up toys. That's non-negotiable.

[jillmamma]

My kiddos like to put away the spoons, knives and forks and "kid" plates (theirs are kept in a low cabinet) from the dishwasher, help me sort laundry and move it in and out of washer and dryer, DS likes to vacuum the steps with the vacuum attachment, and of course put dirty clothes ini hamper, dishes in sink, toys away, etc.

[Autumn Breeze]

My kids usually start with emptying the dryer. They can't really hurt anything, even themselves here. I'll wait until it's been off long enough that it isn't hot, slide the basket under and just let them pull the clothes out. They think it's fun! ha!

My 4 yr old has been putting clothes in the hamper since she was 2, she thought it was a game, and now it's habit! (yay!!!!!!!)

When my son was 5 we started having him clear his place at the table after meals. Scrape the food, and put the dishes on the counter. (now that he can reach he rinses and puts them in the sink...another year and he'll be loading the dishwasher!!!)

When I ask them to clean up their rooms, for the younger one I just give her one task. She has lots of different bins for different sets of toys, so I can say "clean up your Lincoln Logs" and they all go in the box.

ETA dusting...dusting is often recommended, hand them a clean rag and let them wipe the surfaces. But my kids are allergic to dust, and dustmites, so we don't let them do that. We *do* have a "mini" vacuum, it's a short little Dirt Devil and it's the perfect size for my kids, but it's too loud for my 4 yr old. The 8 yr old loves it though!

[earthmama369]

I mostly determine what they're ready for by what they express an interest in combined with my knowledge of their safety sense and physical coordination.

DD at 5 helps with laundry, tidying up all over the house, gardening, grocery shopping and meal planning, getting herself dressed appropriately, basic cooking, etc. DS at 4 does many of these things, too, but still has issues with multiple-step directions at times. That and attention span are the biggest differences between 4 and 5 at this point.

[karemore]

My DD just turned 5 and she wants to help all the time too.

She picks up her own toys, puts her clothes in the hamper, puts her dishes in the dishwasher, shoes away etc.

Lately she's been making her own (instant) oatmeal in the morning. She does everything except take it out of the microwave.

She washes fruit and veggies, slices them if they can be done with a butter knife. She makes smoothies in the blender.

She vacuums, puts clothes in the washer and hangs the laundry (with help)and takes it down. She loves to fold laundry.

She's awesome outdoors, will help weed, rake, wash cars....she waters her own little garden.

She has pet mice, she feeds them and helps me clean the cage. She loves to dust and wash mirrors.

She sounds like Cinderella, but other than clean her room, toys, and put her clothes and dishes away everything is voluntary and done when she offers to help.

[hipumpkins]

My very soon to be 5 year old puts silverware away from the dishwasher, sets the table (except for plates which he can not reach and I actually plate food before putting on the table for space reasons) cleaning the toilet is a favorite job. Washing mirrors and glass with white vinegar and water in a spray bottle.

Both my kids can turn on the stove with me there and also put things into pots before any liquid has boiled. They also help turn on the oven and set the timer.

Both kids DETEST picking up toys.

Dusting any reachable surfaces.

Oh and these do not get done every day. We have job jar and both kids choose 2 jobs a week which is on top having to put toys away.

[Bokonon]

DS just turned 5, and helps empty the dishwasher (he takes out the Tupperware and puts it away), picks up toys (even the baby's), and likes to dust with the feather duster, LOL.

I don't really expect him to do a lot, because I would rather he feel a responsibility for his own things than everyone else's, but as he gets older that will change. He likes to help me measure and mix things in the kitchen, but DD has been so clingy lately that I haven't gotten much of a chance to bake.

[ramama]

My DD is only 4.5, but here's what she likes to do: sort laundry, shaking out rugs (small ones, obviously!), help load/unload the dishwasher (but not sharp knives), set the table, vacuum with the attachment, clean appliance doors, restock toilet paper, water plants, clean tables, dust (we keep some shelves free of overly-fragile things for her to dust), chop food, stir dinner (I let her stir hot food, but she did that a lot in school, and she's good at it, but always closely supervised). She loves to organize, which can be anything from art supplies, to my spices, to the refrigerator. These are things that she asks to do and thanks me for "letting" her do, not required to do by any means. Now that I see it in a list, I think I have a pretty darn helpful little girl . She will not clean up her toys though or put her shoes away, ever LOL.

[Cujobunny]

My 5yo LOVES to help. He vacuums, sweeps, dusts (has his own duster, spray bottle, broom, etc). He clears his spot at the table, dries and puts away dishes he can reach. He LOVES to cook and prep food, so he cuts veggies & fruits for meals (with a butter knife), stirs and mixes and he cooks scrambled eggs on his own (with supervision of course). He helps sort clean laundry and load the washing machine. We have a clothesline outside at kid height so they can hang undies and socks on it

[nathansmum]

DD is 5 and a few months and started doing these things from about 4.75. These aren't expectations, just what she likes doing. Just in the last month I've made the dishwasher job a twice weekly job that she does and DS does twice a week too.

Unloads the dishwasher entirely inlcuding little sharp knives (I do the large ones although DS at 7 can do them) - puts all the things for high cupboards just on the benchtop for me to put away.

Chops up vegetables for dinner using a regular sharp vegetable knife.

Prepares her own snack sometimes - spreads peanut butter or honey onto a cracker or cuts up an apple or peels a carrot and cuts it up.

Vacuums the house

Brings kindling inside from the basket on the porch for stacking into the wood burner in winter (doesn't want to strike the match, but DS at the same age was building the fire and lighting it himself with my supervision).

Opens up the organic vege box on delivery day and puts away them away.

The other day I spotted her wiping out the fruit bowl because it had some ants in it and wouldn't leave it alone until she'd done the job lol.

[pianojazzgirl]

We are pretty unstructured here, so there are no set tasks for dd to do, but I ask her to do little things for me throughout the day (or she asks if she can do them). Picking up toys, putting things in the garbage can, sweeping (though I usually have to "do over" lol), making beds (she loves this!), fetching me things, wiping things clean (mess on the table, floor, etc), bringing dirty dishes to the kitchen. She also helps out with her little brother in doing things like grabbing a snack or drink for him, helping him put on his shoes, etc.o

[boatbaby]

My DS puts dirty clothes in the hamper, helps put away clean clothes, picks up his toys and art supplies, helps wash down counter tops, sets and clears the table (for the whole family), feeds and waters his guinea pig, and helps in chopping veggies for meals, handles recycling, gets the mail. He would LOVE to help wash dishes, but our galley (kitchen) is just too small and not set up in a way where it's possible.

[vancouverlori]

DS is almost 7 now, but at that age, he would help with cutting up veggies (with a sharp knife, and careful instruction and supervision, because dull knives are just annoying and we don't cut many things that are soft enough for that), and at that age I used to make scrambled eggs (all by myself, but maybe that was a slight neglect thing...). He LOVES to use a scrub brush on the floor while I wash it (our terrible vinyl floor has an evil pock-marked pattern and all the crud gets stuck in the pocks.) Sometimes he even washes the floor himself, but maybe not when he was five. We have one of those mircrofiber dustmops, and he likes to dustmop the floors. He also likes to wash the bathroom mirrors. His job was supposed to be putting the cutlery away, but he decided he hated that, so now he actually washes the dishes, and while I might not have expected much at age 5, by 6 1/2, he did a pretty bang-up job!

I have to watch myself because I am a perfectionist and a control freak. I want to encourage him to help, and he won't if I natter at him and correct him the whole time... It's a zen exercise!

[Surfer Rosa]

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Edited by Surfer Rosa - 7/10/11 at 12:48pm

[vancouverlori]

Well, you have to keep in mind that while sometimes, they can be handy, the purpose of having little ones help is so they get into the habit. Their "help" isn't always helpful and often takes more time. If I'm in a hurry to get things done, that's not a good time to invite my son to help me (I tend to get stressed out), right? But if we're working ahead, then it's a great time. I can take the time to monitor how he's holding the food he's cutting, for example. I've shown him how to do "the claw", so that his fingers are bent such that he can't cut them off, because the side of the knife is against his knuckles he uses a small chef's knife - much bigger than a paring knife - and his finger tips are safely tucked further back. You know, the way the chefs on cooking shows chop food (especially the Asian cooking shows)? Like that.