Level 4 chores: practical tips and tricks

• Sorting clothes
• Making cookies/muffins
• Folding towels and their clothes
• Taking out the garbage and recycling
• Putting away the groceries
• Emptying the dishwasher
• Tidying their room
• Wiping the table
• Setting and clearing the table
• Feeding the pets and walking the dog
• Washing fruits and vegetables
• Watering the plants and tending the garden
• Dusting and sweeping
• Getting the mail
• Tending the garden
• Drying the dishes
  
  

If your children have been actively helping with chores since they were very young, they're probably already quite independent and need less and less of your help to carry out their various little missions. Still, here are a few tips that will help you build their independence even further and get their full cooperation:

• At this age, it's time to build your children's proactivity and get them to take the initiative to do chores themselves. To do this, at the start of the week, lay out all of the chore Magnétos on a chore chart and ask your kids to choose one each day themselves.
• Children are often naturally drawn to the kitchen by baking cookies, muffins or any other dessert; to make it easier for them and let them prepare delicious snacks for the whole family, think about keeping all the baking supplies in one place: measuring cups and spoons, muffin and cake pans, spatulas, basic ingredients (flour, baking powder, cocoa, etc.), and so on.
• If your child tidies their room in a hurry and the result leaves something to be desired, make sure they follow each of the steps for a well-tidied room with this handy door hanger!
  
  

Does your child grumble when you ask them to walk the dog they begged you to get for years? If you haven't already, fill out the pet adoption contract with them, which will remind them of the commitments they made when you decided to bring a pet home:

Pet adoption contract

If your child is hanging around aimlessly more often than you'd like, suggest that when they're bored, they do a chore that can be done in just five minutes! Find lots of helpful suggestions on this printable, which you can keep safely in your family organization binder so you can easily pull it out at the right moment:

Chores to do in five minutes

Looking for more tips to encourage your little ones' independence? We've created a complete Independence Path for you, available exclusively to our Family Managers! There you can discover all the actions your child is able to do on their own, depending on their age and developmental level, across every area of daily life, plus a host of practical tools to help them. You'll discover that at the age of eight or nine, a child is now able to:

Eating

• Help prepare packed lunches

Dressing

• Choose appropriate clothing for themselves

Personal hygiene

• Wash completely on their own

Household participation

• Help with small repairs using the right tools
• Pack their own bags

Time awareness

• State the day, month and year
• Tell time and use it to place daily events

Environmental education

• Turn down the thermostats

Financial education

• Make small purchases and count the change
• Understand what a bank account is for

Social bearings

• Know the place religion has in their life