My kids are already back into the routine of school, and just this morning my middle son was doing his own laundry.
Now my friend’s son is a visual learner. So I love how she helped him to become successful in doing his own laundry. A brilliant idea!
This past summer she wanted to teach her kids, so she took pictures of each laundry setting with her digital camera.
Then she cut, numbered, and hung each picture inside the cupboard door!
Step by step.
A perfect teacher.
A great lesson.
And one smart mom! (Love the soap idea!)
It always feels good when our kids learn a lesson and become self-sufficient in life.
Do you think there’s a magical age to learn about laundry? Or do you think our kids just watch and learn from us?
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Ha! I could use this for mu college son!
Nancy
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My 9 year old son "helps" with his laundry. He carries it down, sorts it (with my watchful eye) puts them in the washer, adds the laundry soap etc., sets the wash cycle and puts them into the dryer when they are done and sets that cycle and when they are done, he folds and puts them away. I hang out and watch and reinstruct if needed mostly because he gets sidetracked easily (and can be lazy if he thinks he can get away with it-lol)
My girls started doing their own laundry by about 10 mostly to keep me from killing them. I would wash, dry, fold and put them on their bed only to find them still folded in their laundry basket for the next wash. So we tried having them do their own laundry for 2 weeks then I took over and the same thing happened so they got that chore back permenanatly. (they were 9, 10 and 11 years old at the time-all 3 of them got the chore of doing their laundry on the same day)
I had an instruction sheet up for them, but it never occured to me to put pictures on it. I think it's a great idea!
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I am probably the minority but I LOVE doing laundry. I taught my oldest kids before they left for college but still do all the laundry for those at home (three, plus a foreign exchange student).
On the rare occasion I have had to be out of town, or did not get a needed item washed, they have handled the task with aplomb. Of course my youngest is 15 so they should be able to handle it, don't you think?
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What a great idea. I think I'll try this for my sweet husband? Wonder if it would work for the vacuum too? Ha! Have a great week!
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Love this idea. My daughter could definitely start doing her own laundry!
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I think it is great for kids to be able to handle laundry. I started doing laundry for my family of 6 at the age of 8. My parents were busy with their businesses and encouraged lots of teamwork and independence with things like laundry, cooking and farm work. there were a few casualties…like a wool sweater that shrunk so much that my mom never wore it again, but there was a lot of grace.
I think this visual tutorial/reference is fabulous.
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What a great idea! I don't think there's one good age to teach laundry-I guess, like everything in life, there's a balance between recieving instruction and learning through observation. Right now I only expect our kids to put the clean clothes away, we'll work on the other stuff later!
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I don't think there's a magic age, I think it should be taught early on as a responsibility. My son began helping me with laundry at an early age, then began doing his own probably by 11. When he joined the military, he was shocked by how many young men had NO IDEA what to put where in a washer, or how much. He said one guy was washing his clothes in softener for a month! It pays to teach them well.
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I am going to start doing this for my kids and MY HUSBAND and not just with the laundry! What a great idea!
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What a brilliant idea this is!!
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can i do this for my hubby?
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oh my friend – you know I love this. I am all about my kids doing laundry at an EARLY age…it's the folding and putting away that we still struggle with. They don't realize those three steps are ONE chore.
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Oh my! This is brilliant!
Thanks for sharing.
I have the "how to" posted on the inside cabinet door, but this tip would really help my visual learner.
You know laundry is like the sewing term "gather". One word, many steps!
love ya!
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My 4 year old son would love this. He begs to help with laundry, and I couldn't think of a way that would give him instructions, since he has just started learning to read. Great idea!!
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Great, great, GREAT idea! Thanks for the tip!
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Teaching my sons to do laundry when they were quite young was one of the best things I did. It REALLY helped me out and is a lesson that their wives now thank me for. I always chuckled at how their laundry "style" was a reflection of their personality. One son was a neatnik, no wrinkles and always sorted perfectly. The other son…not so much! But they never went out naked!
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