Can you help me….
by RaRaRo
One day when our son is older my wife and I kind of expect him to be responsible and helpful, especially in the house. So, we have started to somewhat train him to help us with our chores, along with doing other stuff. And the way we go about this is by saying “Can you help me…”. At the moment we find that this works better than simply ordering him around…for example, “Put away your…”. So here’s a short list of things we think that will help our son simply become a better person in the future.
Can you help me ….
…put away the toys? (Even if it takes longer to do overall).
…put the clothes in the dryer? (Even if it’s a few garments).
…fold the clothes? (Even if it’s a bad folding job).
…read the newspaper? (Even if its looking at pictures).
…make the bed? (Even if its just tossing the covers around).
…get your red cup? (Even if you have to show where it is).
…organize your shoes? (Even if you do 90% of the work).
…throw away the trash? (Even if you hold the bag, and he just walks with you).
Give it a try, and let me know how it goes!
Daddy's Pride 
Pretty soon he will just say “No.” So we stopped phrasing it as a question if they really don’t have a choice and now we say, “Help me put the clothes in the basket please.” I also find it helpful if you are incredibly specific, like “Please put 10 toys in the toy box” (or however many he can count.) This is good practice for colors and language skills, i.e. “Please bring me the blue blocks” or “Please get the ball from under the table.” If you have them do things like fold or make a bed, don’t re-do it in front of them if they do a bad job! It builds confidence if they think they’re really helping!!
That’s great advice. I def think you are right about being specific, and not re-doing the bed. Thanks Jaime!