Engaging toddlers in household chores is a fantastic opportunity for learning and bonding. From vacuuming to setting the table, these everyday tasks that can be tedious for adults become exciting and fun in the eyes of small children.
We call this kind of work “care of the environment” in Montessori education, and it’s a cornerstone of of our method because it offers several benefits:
- Autonomy: encouraging children to do activities of daily life more independently;
- Community: deepening a sense of belonging and responsibility within the family;
- Self-efficacy: building confidence by successfully completing tasks;
- Concentration: developing their attention span through purposeful activities.
As a Montessori guide, I've witnessed the enthusiasm and capability of toddlers when given age-appropriate housekeeping tasks. As with other practical life areas, the key lies in offering appropriate tools, setting realistic expectations, and introducing chores gradually.
This mini guide aims to inspire and equip you with practical strategies and resources to involve your toddler in housework, from collaboration to independence!
Skip to:
- Preparing yourself
- Preparing the environment
- The right tools for the job (with amazon links)
- It’s SHOW time! Presenting an activity
- Points of interest
- Visual tasks
- Get it here:
Preparing yourself
Toddlers are not ready to take on chores in the way older children or adults do. This period isn’t about completing tasks perfectly or efficiently; it’s a time for them to learn the foundational skills, explore tasks sensorially, and develop a sense of contribution and capability.
Toddlers are naturally eager to participate in household tasks—they see us working and want to join in. Often, we might hold them back because their efforts aren’t efficient, the result isn’t perfect, or it takes extra time to guide them. However, if we miss this crucial window of opportunity, they may lose interest as they grow older, and what was once enthusiasm becomes resistance.
Start by observing your child. Notice their interests and readiness for specific activities. Are they drawn to wiping spills, carrying items, or sweeping? Begin with tasks they show interest in and build from there. At first, they’ll need a lot of involvement and guidance from you. Over time, as their skills and confidence grow, you can gradually step back, giving them more independence. Celebrate their efforts, no matter how small, and let them feel the pride of being part of the family’s work.
Preparing the environment
It’s essential to prepare an environment that sets them up for success. Creating a space where they can access the tools and materials they need allows for more independence and encourages participation.
Consider their need for access to water—a critical element in many cleaning tasks. This might mean making the kitchen tap accessible with a faucet extender, providing a step stool, or having a pre-filled a dispenser for filling small pitchers and washing hands or tools.
Keeping cleaning tools and products organized and within easy reach ensures they know where to find them and where to return them, fostering a sense of order. Look for child-safe cleaning solutions, or make your own by diluting soap, vinegar or other safe products in water.
The right tools for the job (with amazon links)
The tools you provide should be child-sized and functional, enabling them to use them effectively and safely. Items like a small broom, dustpan, cloths, or a spray bottle that they can squeeze are excellent starting points. See the list below for some suggestions, with product links:
Toddler housework tools
It’s SHOW time! Presenting an activity
SHOW is an often-used acronym in Montessori teacher training. It serves to remind us of the best way to present a new task or material to a child, and stands for “Show Hands, Omit Words”. What this means is that, instead of holding a toddler’s hands and doing the motions with them, or talking through various steps while we show them how a task done, we: 1. describe what we’re going to do and then 2. silently show the action with our own bodies. The reason behind this is that toddlers have a hard time paying attention to both verbal instructions and visual instructions at the same time, and benefit from us separating the two.
After we show how a step is done, you may say “now it’s your turn” and we step back - really! Montessori teachers will figuratively (or sometimes literally) “sit on our hands” and “bite our tongues” to prevent ourselves from interrupting them and breaking their concentration. If you let your toddler try something on their own after watching you, you’re giving them the opportunity to figure things out, make mistakes and persist - without undermining their efforts.
Points of interest
In Montessori education, points of interest are the elements of an activity that naturally draw a child’s attention and keep them engaged. These are often sensory details or specific steps within a task that are satisfying or intriguing to a child. In housework, these points of interest can make everyday tasks captivating and enjoyable for toddlers.
Some examples:
- The sound and motion of water pouring from a pitcher.
- The feeling of squeezing a sponge and watching water drip out.
- The satisfying “click” of a spray bottle or the texture of bubbles while washing.
- The transformation of a dusty surface into a clean one as they wipe.
By observing what captures your child’s attention during these tasks, you can shift the focus away from simply “getting the job done”, and embrace the joy and curiosity that children naturally bring to their work.
Visual tasks
Keeping track of all the necessary tools and actions needed to complete a task can be hard for little ones, and it can helpful to have something to point to as you explain what comes next in the logical sequence of steps. This can also help older kiddos follow through home care tasks on their own, as a visual reminder of a process they are already familiar with.
This is why I’ve created “First tasks: a visual home care book for kids 1y+” which features 12 child-friendly tasks with real images of every product, tool and action needed and clear, easy-to-follow steps. It also includes a page for parents with quick tips on cleaning and tidying together, teaching steps and handling accidents, as well as a list of points of interest for every task.
Get it here:
The book is available as a digital download and is then perfect to print + laminate so you can use it at home. It would also make an amazing gift for any young child in your life, paired with some of the above-mentioned cleaning tools!
Check out the full series: