Daily Chores For 3-Year-Old Toddlers

Now that my older daughter is a 3-year-old, she has started participating in some of the chores we do daily around our home.

In a previous post, I talked about how I keep my home clean with a baby and toddler and I had mentioned in that post that my daughter likes to help out with some of the cleaning tasks.

My daughter is in that really helpful stage in toddlerhood where she wants to help with a lot of what we are doing.

So we do our best to include her.

By her helping with chores and other cleaning tasks, she can begin to learn what it means to have some responsibility.

But with her only being 3, she can’t fathom major or big responsibilities.

However, she can begin learning about what it means to take care of herself and her space.

Which is primarily what her chores consist of.

There are a few chores that I have my 3-year-old do daily and I would like to share what she does in this post for anyone looking for age-appropriate chores for 3-year-olds.

Here are some simple daily chores that a 3-year-old toddler can do.

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Can A 3-Year-Old Really Do Chores?

Before I dive into some of the chores that my toddler does, let’s answer this question.

Can a 3-year-old really do chores?

I know that my first thought would be that 3 is too early for a child to be doing chores.

But as I started thinking about some of the things my 3-year-old daughter does now, she already does them in a way.

For instance, a few things that my daughter can do by herself are:

• Get herself dressed
• Put on jacket
• Put on her shoes
• Use the bathroom
• Wash and dry her hands
• Fill up her water bottle
• Get and open snacks at her height level

These are things that are considered age-appropriate tasks for a 3-year-old, so when it comes to figuring out what chores my daughter can do, I think about what she can do independently.

You cannot expect a 3-year-old to do things like washing dishes or laundry on her own.

These are tasks that they can help with but not something that can be done independently by them alone.

Most younger children usually want to help with these larger tasks so include them when you can.

I know that it can feel like they are just in the way, but the way to start them on chores is to start early and include them.

Tasks that my daughter will help me with are:

• Making the beds
• Mixing ingredients while cooking
• Drying dishes
• Putting clothes into the dryer
• Vacuuming

By having my daughter help with chores around the house, she is not only learning the importance of keeping a clean home but also how to do them.

The only way for her to learn is by giving her an opportunity to do them

And if there is a way to make it enjoyable do so.

Some great guidelines when trying to get your kids to enjoy doing chores that are mentioned over at Keeper Of The Home are to keep it positive and don’t make chores a form of punishment.

Reinforcements can be used when chores are completed, but ultimately the goal of your little one doing chores is that they do them even when not being rewarded.

For us right now, we are not using reinforcements and focusing more on so getting into the habit of completing the task without being told.

Since my daughter is only 3, it takes a lot of repetition and patience, but we are getting there.

With that being said, let’s get into the daily chores that my 3-year-old toddler does.

Daily Chores For 3-Year-Old Toddlers

“Make” Her Bed (Pull Up Covers)

The very first chore that I have my 3-year-old do daily in the mornings is “make” her bed.

I say “make” because she can’t make her bed to the standard that I would prefer but she can at least up pull up the covers and put her decorative pillows on the bed.

Making the bed is such a good productive habit that should be taught early on and something that I would want my daughter to continue to do so throughout childhood and adulthood.

Part of my own daily morning routine is making my bed so by me modeling this behavior, she will see that this is something that we do every day.

Set Her Place At Her Table

If you all are familiar with my daily routine with my baby and toddler, then you know that our days start around 8:00 AM when both of the girls are up and we head into the kitchen to make breakfast.

While making breakfast and any other meals of the day, we will sometimes set the table.

A new chore that we have recently started doing with my 3-year-old is having her set her place at her own table.

She has an IKEA Children’s Table that came with 2 chairs where she will eat her meals from time to time.

To help her with setting her table, we have been using this Montessori Placemat and Utensils by Lovevery.

This colorful silicone placemat is made for younger children 18 months and up and comes with child-size silverware.

There is a place for the plate, utensils, napkin, and cup to go so it makes setting the table a breeze.

Not to mention, my daughter enjoys it too which is always a win when getting your little one to do chores.

If you are interested in this placemat, I will link it below.

Put Dirty Dishes/Cups In The Sink

After eating, the next thing that I have my daughter do is put her dirty dishes in the sink.

I want her to get into the habit of picking up after herself and that includes not leaving plates and cups all over the counter after you are done eating and drinking.

She may not be able to wash the dishes by herself, but she can make sure the dishes make it into the sink or dishwasher.

This is another chore that I model for my daughter by doing it myself and putting my plates and cups in the sink to be washed.

Part of my morning chores in my daily cleaning routine as a stay-at-home mom is to wash the dishes or put them in the dishwasher.

And I try to involve my daughter in that process if she is wanting to help.

The main thing I focus on right now at her age is her placing any dirty dishes and cups in the sink to be washed.

Throw Away Trash

Along with washing dishes, another task that I ensure my daughter does is throw away her trash.

Like most toddlers, my daughter is snacking throughout the day.

And most of her snacks are covered in wrappers or plastic that need to be discarded.

Instead of just taking off the wrapper and just laying it down wherever I encourage her to throw her trash away in the nearest trash bin.

We keep trash bins in every room in our home and all of the trash bins are accessible to my daughter.

By practicing throwing her trash away at home, she also carries this mentality out in public by not littering and throwing her trash into a trash can.

Pick Up Toys And Books

Throughout the day, my daughter is bouncing from toy to toy and activity to activity.

Some of her favorite play-based activities that she loves to do are coloring, putting together puzzles, and roleplaying.

She also loves to pretend that she is taking care of her baby dolls and cooking in her play kitchen.

It can be tough to redirect a toddler from having fun, it is important that they learn how to clean up between activities.

I tell my daughter all the time that in order for her to start a new activity, she needs to clean up or put away what she was playing with before.

Be prepared to repeat this often because the last thing on a 3-year-old’s mind is cleaning so you will have to be consistent in telling them.

Most 3-year-olds are very capable of picking up after themselves and putting it back where it was.

This is exactly what I have my daughter do when it comes to picking up after herself.

Put Dirty Clothes In Hamper

And the last chore that I have my 3-year-old do daily is put her dirty clothes into the hamper.

As I mentioned above my daughter can get dressed by herself.

Part of the good daily habits that we teach her is to get dressed every day so I lay out her outfit every morning for her to change into.

After she has changed into her clothes for the day, I will remind her to put her pajamas into the hamper that she wore the night before.

I will also have her do the same in the evenings after she has undressed and taken a bath.

She is capable of putting her dirty clothes into the hamper and she has access to her hamper in her closet.

Your Turn

Well, those are the daily chores that I have my 3-year-old doing. I want to hear from you all now. What are some chores and cleaning tasks that you have your toddler doing? Let me know in the comments and while you are still here, check out my previous post below. Until next time!

• Read More: Nap Schedule For My 10-Month-Old Baby

Love,

Just Jass