When is a child ready to help with daily chores?

I started both my sons as soon as they were old enough to understand what I was saying. I start with their personal items. At the end of the day we take all of the toys back to the playroom that have gotten out of the living room. Once they get that, I move to helping me put their laundry away. I just found that if I had them focus on keeping their things straight, it was easier to ask them to do more. My 4 year old takes his dishes to the sink when he is finished eating, puts his dirty laundry in the laundry room, picks up and dusts his room (with help) and picks up the playroom.

My husband and I started chores with our now 11 year old son as early as he could walk and do things like put some toys back in his toy box or bring put his dishes on the kitchen counter.   We continue to be consistent with routine things like helping to set the table for dinner and putting dishes on the counter after a meal.   We now use a responsibility chart which lists the chores he needs to do either daily or on a weekly basis.  This includes cleaning/clearing his room, putting his toys away, making his bed in the morning, etc.  We keep track of it and give him points for completing them on time.   He earns extra privileges for the weekend, such as more time to play with friends on a Saturday, more TV time, X-Box/Wii time on the weekend, etc.  Also when he has his friends over, I ask all of them to help clean up whatever toys they were playing with before they can go outside.  It use to be that my son would have to clean up the mess of 2 or 3 friends, but now they do it as a group, and it can be done much more quickly.  Hope this helps!  Good luck!

It's best to start with them early. At your child's age though, although you are tired, as you are doing something, say cooking, allow her to give her opinion about the food for dinner or the color of the dinner plates. Ask her to set the table based on her opinion of how it should be done or how it should look, then go with it, complimenting her on how she helped with something that is important to the family. You can do this with almost any chore, like if you are vacuuming, ask if she thinks you guys could rearrange the furniture, and how she thinks it might look a certain way. At this age they need affirmation that they are as important as they think they are. But the thing is you are both helping each other, and making her feel like she matters in important things at home. Not only are you teaching her she does matter, but you having her help and feel good about doing it. you may find her coming to you to tell you she already picked up her room or something you have had to get on her about.