Toddler Wants to "HELP" Us Do Everything

my son's fav was the dishwasher so I had a bucket that he could put all the tupperware/plastics into and he felt like he was helping. My son has always been tall so a simple step stool and he was a happy camper. We also got him his own duster, mop knee pads/hand pads, tought him how to sort socks (by color at that age) and many other fun things. It is typical at this age to be "mommy's little helper" one thing we did have to teach him is "sometimes helping isn't helping"
Oh and we made a lot of stuffing for a while, he loved nothing more than to mix it with his bare hands - dried bread cubes, shredded carrot, celery, onion (optional), diced apple, seasonings, chick/veggie broth and WOW do we have a fun time for a toddler to mix and squish. I will admit there were times we could not eat it from over squishing but for the most part it came out wonderfully!

Didn't read through your answers but I always let my little ones help with dishes, cooking, grocery shopping (allowing them to get the item off the shelf, put items on belt, etc), put away the groceries, and getting the mail.

They sell smaller vacuum cleaners and broom/dustpan sets for kids.he may enjoy using those

-Get a plastic knife and let him help you chop lettuce or other fruit/veggies. (okay maybe this is for older kiddo. Maybe he can tear the lettuce with his fingers for a salad??)
-Have him "help" you with laundry. Can he put socks in a pile, or put them in drawers? Not quite the age to sort big/small socks, but maybe??
- Let him dust the bookshelf (the shelves he can reach)
- I have a great recipe for doggie treats if you want him to cook in the kitchen with you. It's almost like play-doh that you bake and then feed your dog.
- Have him feed the pets - scoop a cup of food and pour it into the bowl
- In the morning, put the coffee filters down low for him to reach. He can bring you one every morning to be a big boy helper.

Encourage him where appropriate. Give him socks to match if you're doing laundry. Let him "stir" baking mixes. Have him help you set the table by giving everyone a napkin. As he gets older, teach him to match a coupon with an item on the shelf and let him have his own cart or basket. We ask DD to check and tell us what lights need to be off, for example. My DD isn't quite that helpful as those twins but she does do a lot and she's capable of more than I previously would have thought for a 3 yr old. And when he sets the table with tiny little plates, consider extra courses vs replacing them. DD was SO proud...so we ate off half-sized plates and thanked her for setting the table all by herself.

My ganddaughter tells us all how to drive from the back seat. She is almost 3 and it drives my daughter crazy.

Pay back time!

I've let my son help with everything from early on. To keep it fun for both of us and engaging, I try to add some element of education into it. For example, he will stand on a chair and help me put laundry into the machine. I ask him what color one item is, who another one belongs to, etc. as we put each item into the machine. He sorts the socks after the drying cycle. Sometimes I'll ask him to pull specific items out of the dryer (Can you please hand me the blue shirt? Can you find the pant that go with this pajama shirt?).

When he was younger I'd ask him what each item was (holding up a shirt, I'd say, "What's this?" and he'd say shirt). You can make all these things fun no matter what your child's age. How they perceive chores is all about how you talk to them while you're doing each activity. If you have the patience to make little games out of each thing, it will really pay off in the end!

Some other ideas:
- Placing silverware and napkins on table to set for dinner and having him sort them (one fork and one spoon on each napkin - if it is safe for him to handle forks)
- Baking - kids love to mix batter (and eat it)
- Vacuuming with a dustbuster
- Picking up toys by color/shape ("Bring me all the red ones," then all the green ones, etc.)
- Shopping ("Hand me the red box of noodles; it is below the blue box," etc.)

Oh the helping stage. It's so cute, frustrating, and fun. Let him do what he can because he will outgrow it and it turns into the lazy - you do it stage.
Some things to try-
Scrape dinner scraps into trash
Wipe walls and baseboards with wet washcloth
Wipe table
dust with swiffer duster
pick up pieces of trash that are on the floor and put in trashcan
When switching laundry from washer to dryer, give a small basket of items he can throw in dryer

And the most important - never ever forget and push the elevator button yourself - you have been warned ;)

My son loves to help with the laundry. I will start to put clothes in the dryer and he will open and close the door for me. Its so cute. When he sees I have more clothes to put in, he opens it again. He gets a kick out of it. He also likes to help put the clothes in too.

He brings me his plates and bowls in the kitchen when he is done eating.

He loves to help pick up his toys at the end of the day.

Puts his toys in the bath tub for bath time, and puts them in his basket when he feels he is done with bath time, and even drains the tub for me.

He gets his own book he wants to read for bedtime story.

Just some things that we do around here.

Our son is 13 months and he likes to help too. For us it is a mindset. Long term I want him to help so now it’s just practice and play. We let him try anything within reason and with supervision. Afterall the worst he does is make a bit of a mess which is harmless enough in my opinion.

We bought him a toy mower for Christmas which he uses as his vacuum cleaner. Whenever one of us vacuums, he gets his mower/vacuum to help. When I mop, I give him a rag which he uses to wipe whatever makes him happy – the floor, the windows, the dog, etc. Periodically I just show him other things to wipe. Right now he’s all about putting things in things so I try to play off that too. I give him a pot and a plastic spoon while I cook. He usually gets a can out of the pantry which he puts in his pot to “cook” and stir with his utensil. I put small sized cans and other baby proof things down low in the pantry which he cooks with. After dinner he helps me pick up the cans and whatever else he gets out to cook with. He helps me feed the dog by holding the food container lid and putting it back on. While I am folding his laundry, I have two or three small empty bins which I set out around me. I hand him things like socks which he puts in the bins. When I stack plastic bowls and dishes, I have him help me nest them and then put them in the cupboard. He helps me load the washing machine too since it is front loading and he loves to close the door. While I wash dishes, I hand him plastic dishes and utensils to “load” the dishwasher. He helps me close the dishwasher door. Every night we pick up his toys and books with his help. Just yesterday he was helping my husband rotate the car’s tires. He took one of my husband’s socket wrenches and was messing about with his stroller wheels. Then he took a rag and was wiping the wheels.