How to Teach the Kids to Unload the Dishwasher

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you start them with the unbreakable stuff, and the stuff they can reach.
if they're old enough to reach the glasses and the plates cabinets, you say, 'take out the glasses and the plates and put them in the right cabinets.'
there's not a lot of 'teaching' to it.
occasionally things might get broken.
if you have a kid who is a smasher, don't have that kid do this particular chore.
most kids really don't need a youtube tutorial for this.
khairete
S.

If kids are too short to reach the cupboards, they unload the dishes into neat stacks on the counter so the dishwasher is emptied out and dirty dishes can be loaded into it.

First, if you are 'petrified', you need to take a step back and reassess. A petrified parent generally makes kids hate doing things because they tend to micromanage out of fear.

If you don't trust them to wash dishes by hand, then skip this one for now. I get it; I have a bunch of old Francisicanware dishes in our kitchen. We have old glass plates and other stuff. Kiddo is nearly ten, we don't have a dishwasher and our kitchen is small. So I have him help by putting away silverware and the containers/recycling, etc. He folds all of his own clothes and helps with laundry. He helps make meals with me at times. (cooking=l invaluable life skill). There are plenty of other household tasks they can help with if you are worried about broken dishes.

This isn't something they can't learn later, by the way, if you think dishes are going to be broken because they are so careless or distracted or playing around. But basically, like items go with like items. There is a big push lately to teach chores because they are 'life skills'... I'd prefer to think that we have our children help us because 'everyone helps in the way they can'. So if this doesn't feel good for you, find something else for them to help with. No biggie. They won't grow up to be spoiled brats if they don't help unload a dishwasher right now. When Kiddo is older, I will teach him "the architecture of the dishrack" and how to predict which dishes need to go where for best use of a small space. ;) For now, though, not something to sweat over.

What is there to teach? Just make sure they know where they go. Even if it's not perfect, they will figure it out. Just be happy they did it.

Like any other chore, have them help you, shadow you and teach them how to do it properly (just show them how you do it.) Once they get the hang of it they can take over.

I just let them do it. In the beginning, I would clean something else in the kitchen while they unloaded so that I was close by in case they had questions (mostly "where does this pan go?" kinds of questions). But I didn't really "teach". I just said - you are old enough to unload the dishwasher now. Child one is responsible for A, B, and C, child two is responsible for X, Y, and Z. The division of labor is by height - the older child gets the stuff that is stored in cabinets above the counter, younger gets stuff stored below the counter. Anything that the older can't reach gets set on the counter for me.

ETA: Now that I think more about it, they did step in gradually. They started with silverware around age 4 (I took out sharp knives before I gave them the basket) plus clearing their own plate from the table. By age 6 they graduated to everything in the lower cabinets plus clearing the whole table after dinner. By age 8 they were doing things in the bottom of the upper cabinets. Now my older is 10, and he not only does all the upper cabinets that he can reach, he also loads the dishwasher after dinner, younger (age 6) clears the table, while I wipe the counters and table and package leftovers. (for the record, DH cooks so it's a team effort all around)

How old are they and how tall are they, how heavy are your dishes, how high are the dish shelves? Unless you have a stepladder in the kitchen (which I do, great for short people), don't expect a short person to put things away on high shelves. (And if you do have a stepladder, be careful about small people being up on ladders with heavy dishes.) Putting clean dishes in neat stacks on a counter near the dish cabinet, to help a taller person put them into the cabinet quickly, can be a great way to help too.

The main thing is knowing where mom wants the dishes to go. Secondary, being able to reach those places if they are too small and what to do about that.

Have them help you unload several times until they know where things live. They should ask if they encounter an unknown object in the future.

Hmm. It's pretty much the same as the silverware - they unload the top rack here first. My son puts away all the cups and mugs - he kind of does all the glasses first, then mugs - sometimes he puts them on the counter to group what goes where first.

He does the bottom rack same as we do - one at a time, or if not too many, he stacks them (bowls, plates) together - then puts them away. Ours are in a drawer so he's not having to reach up high into a cupboard.

Some kids are better suited to this than others. Another kid had this job in our house but things were getting chipped, so my more patient and methodical kid now has the job. So don't give up - try another child if needs be :) We had to figure that all out early on - who was suited to what.

Just show them how you do it - how you would like it done - and they'll follow your example. My son has his own system now and I don't mess with it.

Take the silverware holder over to the silverware drawer. Put it on the counter and start putting away the silverware.
Take each plate/bowl out one at a time and stack on the counter. (or straight into cupboard if they are tall enough)
Take each glass out one at a time and put on counter. (or straight into cupboard if they are tall enough)
Close dishwasher.
Put dishes away in cupboards one at a time. (if they are tall enough)

We need to know ages. My kids all do it together. We break it into three sections (bottom, top, and silverware). The first person there gets to pick, but they have to pick before they open it. It just makes our lives easier. If they can't reach something, they know to put it on the counter near where it goes and my husband or I will put it away.

My kids have all been doing this since 4/5 years old. Anything too heavy or breakable, I remove before they start.

Without ages and abilities in your question, it's hard to judge. Unloading is one thing, reaching cabinets is something else.

I think you do have to get past "petrified" though, and not let them do the good china and so forth. If your kids are not coordinated or responsible enough to avoid breaking a ton of dishes, move on to another chore. Laundry, for example. But accept that everyday things are just that - things that can be replaced. You can't panic or freak out about it. When was the last time you broke something? Did it make you stop doing that chore?

Start off with what is NOT breakable - plastics, pots/pans, and so on. Praise praise praise. Resist the urge to tell them they are doing it wrong. It makes people get nervous and give up.

Then move on with anything that goes in lower cabinets. They can also stack things that go in cabinets they can't reach - Tupperware & lids, plates, etc. Glasses and coffee mugs can at least be organized on the counter nearest the cabinet where they go.

I'd have each child take one side of the dishwasher so they aren't walking past each other. Just take out the stuff that goes on the side of the kitchen where they are standing. My husband and I unload the dishwasher that way all the time. And if one of us is handing the other something breakable, the "giver" asks the "receiver" if she's "Got it?" before letting go.

We use Corelle dishes, so the concern about them breaking is fairly low. I think I just tried to give my son a little space while still watching. I gave him a few tips about things I found helpful and just reminded him to take it slow.

Our cabinet is right above the dishwasher (small kitchen, but still quite frustrating), so I suggested he place the dishes there until he ran out of space on the counter. Once he was out of space, I suggested he close the dishwasher and put those dishes away. Then open the dishwasher and start setting dishes on the counter again.

I do understand the fear of them breaking something, but you just have to remind them of the breakables, to be careful and to to go slow the first few times.

Have them unload the smaller things like silverware and maybe glasses that are stored in the lower cabinets.
Actually, since I am pretty short, I make my husband unload the dishwasher! It's a way to get him to participate in a little housework! There's no way I can reach some of the higher cabinets, so I imagine kids would have a hard time with this too.

Honestly I bet they an do it. I don't know how old they are but within the last year I've had my kids (7 and 9) start doing it and I barely have to help them. They know where most of the dishes are just from observing, helping, etc. so it's been great, although I will admit I was a bit surprised at first! They have never broken a glass or a dish. They use the stool if they can't reach or they help each other. My kids don't do it every time but I like being able to ask them to do it if I'm busy with other things.

First, make sure your kitchen is organized. Tupperware goes here, the lids go there like this, glasses go here, plates go there, flatware gets sorted in this drawer, etc. If a child knows where things go, and there is organized storage, that will help.

When my first was born, dh and I had quite a lot of Pfaltzgraff dinnerware and place settings. We liked it, but it's heavy, chips easily, and isn't very practical for a family with a young kid (if you want that kid to help out eventually).

When he got old enough to participate in setting the table, clearing, and then moving on to loading, unloading the dishwasher, we switched. Packed up the Pfaltzgraff, and started using practical dinnerware that was lightweight but not ugly. It would almost bounce if dropped. We did have nicer place settings for holidays and special dinners, but for the every day family meals when the kids were expected to participate in table setting and clean-up, we just used unbreakable things. I'm not talking about paper plates, but acrylic, etc. Saves a lot of headaches.

So if you're petrified of broken dishes, is it because you are using dishes that can't be replaced, or are you afraid of injuries? Figure that one out. Figure out how to give your kids the tools they need to learn the skills they need.

my kids 4 and 6 have been unloading the dishwasher for a year now... we primarily use plastic cups. so theres no glasses to break. there are coffee mugs but my 6 yr old puts those up, my 4 yr old does the pots pans, mixing bowls, stacks the cups, puts the odds and ends away. my 6 yr old does the mugs, the plates and bowls (corelle so durable but not unbreakable)
i just had them do it with me for a few months and now they are responsible for doing it.

Hi J.,

I'm in agreement with the responses below. Mine never really broke any dishes and we do use glass glasses. My challenge with my DS (15) is getting him to fully cycle the dishes, meaning emptying, refilling AND starting it. He thinks he's done once it's empty. SMH...........boys. :-) Good Luck! :-) S.

I just taught them to do it one dish at a time and to work slowly. My six year old does this as a regular chore. Our dishes, bowls, and silverware all go in drawers that she can easily reach. She can't reach the cupboard where the glasses go, so she just places them on the counter underneath and I put them away later. She also leaves the sharp knives in the dishwasher for me (she's uncomfortable putting them away, though I would let her if she wanted to).

You need to decide what each child is physically capable of doing. Are they tall enough to take plates out of the dishwasher and place them in the correct cabinet? Without climbing? Can they handle the pots and pans and not drop them? There is a lot you left out like how old they are.

When they were younger I had them put away one dish at a time. If they didn't know where something went they were to put it in the drying rack in the sink until they could ask me where to put it. They have never broken a dish (not while unloading the dishwasher anyway).

i had my son take out the plastic cups and dishes when he was younger, with the silverware. Then as he got older and was used to putting them away, he handled the glassware/ breakables..