We’ve all been told the phrase “If you want something done right, do it yourself” at least once, if not multiple times. There is nothing farther from reality when teaching a toddler how to do chores. Today we worked on hanging our laundry outside. I didn’t plan on doing this, it was my son that taught me that he was ready and that I needed to include him.

My son was standing beside me fussing and whining. I was focused on the task of getting the laundry up and trying to get him to play independently (i.e. chase our dog around the yard). When he wouldn’t let up, I gave him one of his shirts and told him to put it on the line, gently guiding his hand. He beamed with pride when it stayed up! I handed him another one, he focused on getting it on the line, it fell, but he just asked for another piece of clothing.

I know that I need to be more patient and slow down. I can thank my son for helping me to teach him. Sure he piled the clothes into one area or half of them fell down and I had to go back later and fix them, but that was not what my son saw. He learned how to do something new, he enjoyed working alongside me, and he felt pride in his work. Perhaps next time his coordination and his attention span will be longer.

Adult to toddler hack: In order to make our clothesline toddler friendly, we just added a rope at his height at the bottom. Cost= $0. Time=5 minutes

Advanced Lessons: for older toddlers and children you can incorporate lessons on solar energy and/or practical life of folding clothes after they have dried