Hi there,

My daughter is almost 7 also, my second is just 5 and my youngest is almost 2.... I come from a family where you piked up after yourself from as young as I can remember, I have pretty much carried that through to my parenting, so very day from the age of three or thereabouts, I had the girls attempt to make their beds - it didnt matter that it wasnt done properly - they had done it themselves. Of course as I am a wee bit anal, I would always fix it up, now they make their beds every morning and they have become quite good at it!!!!

Nowadays, they have small jobs like the 7 yo packs the dishwasher, the 5 yo unpacks, the 7 yo will do the bird, the 5 yo will do the cat, they both put their own washing in the respective basket in the laundry, they both take their dishes to the sink and rinse after meals, they both clean out the car once a week, they actually enjoy most of these things!!!!

They also like helping with the cooking and shopping, learning how you do simple things that become skills for life.

I think, if they are able to perform the task adequately why not???? In this day and age where everything is based around technology and growth, we should all be making sure our kids have the fundamental life skills, common sense and logical thinking skills that seem to be disappearing fast. Most of these can be learned in the home on various scales just by allowing them to be a part of your day!!!

Hope this helps!!!

I have a baby girl who is going to be 3 soon and she has alot of chores.  Though for her they are more really games at the moment.  But things that she does are put her dirty laundry and shoes in their bins.  Put her toys away and she helps me do the dishes and clean the table, and take out the trash.  I think your 5 and 7 year olds can do basic things like trash, making beds (with your help for the 5 year old), putting away dirty clothes and toys.  Those can be a daily thing, and really what ever you ask them to do.  The 3 yo could do the clothes and toys and help you around the house.  I would start off with 2-4 items that they have to do daily and as those become second nature ad one more thing for them to do. 

hello

we have two daughters one is 3 and the other is 1

caitlin our 3 yr old will take her plate ,cup etc after each meal to the sink she knows if there are things on her plate she puts the left over in the bin . she makes her bed , puts her clothes away , she knows how to put the clothes in the dryer and turn it on ( but my wife watches ) , she helps doing dishes , and believe it or not she loves helping clean the toliet . these are all things she likes to help with

josie puts things in the bin  and she passes you her plate when finshed but she is still very young

kenny

jayde is 6 she does the following -

makes her bed (pulls her quilt up and makes it tidy)

tidies her room and the play room

wipes down the table after meals and clears plates to the sink for me.

feed the dog and turtle

help take out the recyleing bottles etc.

vaccume her own room

jess is 4 she does the same as jayde but she just needs a little more help and needs to be reminded how to do things.