Teaching children valuable life skills helps set them up for success in the future. Not only do life skills like laundry help promote a sense of independence and responsibility, but they can provide a way for the child to contribute to the household as well. If you’re interested in teaching your child the basics of laundry, OXXO Cleaners That Care can assist. We’ll provide tips and practical strategies for making the experience of doing laundry both fun and educational for children of all ages.
The Right Age to Start
It’s not always easy to decide when to introduce certain tasks. In general, save tasks that involve potentially hazardous materials like laundry detergent for when a child is old enough to understand not to put things in their mouths. For example, sorting laundry by color is a great task for little children, ages 3 – 5, while measuring detergent is better suited for slightly older helpers, such as children between the ages of 6 – 10.
Whatever age your child is, always emphasize the importance of being safe when performing household chores or when working around laundry appliances and detergents. Accidents are rare but they can happen. The best way to prevent an accident is to have open, honest conversations with your child about safety.
Breaking Down the Laundry Process
There are various steps to the process of doing laundry, with each one presenting a new opportunity to involve your child. Sorting is the first step in doing laundry. This involves creating separate piles for your dirty clothing, based on color, fabric type, or the owner of the clothing. Make this like a game with your little one, seeing who can sort clothes faster. The measuring of detergent is appropriate for older children. Show your child how important it is to get the amount of detergent correct, including scenarios of what might happen if too much or too little detergent is used.
After the clothes are placed in the machine and the detergent added, the machine can be set. Again, this step is best suited for older children. Demonstrate how to select the correct wash settings based on fabric types and load size, allowing them to start the washing machine on their own. Once the clothes are washed and dried, make the process of hanging and folding another fun game. Encourage your child to help with this by showing them how easy and enjoyable it can be to fold and put away clothes. Music or a great audiobook can make this chore one to be relished rather than dreaded. Choose a new book every week or every several weeks and watch the hours melt away!
Creating a Laundry Schedule
If multiple people are living in your home, you could end up with a lot of laundry by the end of the week. To assist with this task and to help foster a sense of personal responsibility in your child, create a weekly laundry schedule. This schedule could include sorting and starting laundry one day and then folding and hanging it the next day. This breaks up the task and makes it easier to manage. As a bonus, by doing laundry throughout the week based on a schedule, you don’t have to spend your weekends doing chores.
Rewards and incentives can make it easier for a child to feel motivated. Consider offering some small reward at the end of the week for a job well done, or multiple incentives throughout the week for a child who’s just getting started with chores. If you aren’t sure what sort of rewards would motivate your child, ask. They might be happy with something as small as a treat from the grocery store or prefer tickets into a drawing for a large prize, such as tickets for a movie or a piece of sports equipment. When children feel included and involved, they’re more likely to help out.
Teaching Care for Special Items
Some articles of clothing require special care or cleaning techniques. Use this as a learning opportunity for children, teaching them about the basics of fabric care and the differences in certain types of laundry. Explain stain removal and if you feel comfortable doing so, demonstrate some safe methods of removing stains to your child. As always, ensure safety when using chemicals or cleaning agents, and don’t allow young children to handle or use detergent or stain remover.
Environmental Awareness and Sustainability
Everyone needs to take care of the earth and do their part to save the planet we share. Discuss energy-efficient laundry practices with your child even as you talk about laundry basics and stain removal, explaining how important it is to use environmentally friendly detergents and reduce water and energy consumption.
Recycling and upcycling clothes is another way to be kind to the earth. Talk to your child about clothing recycling and how to repurpose old clothes they no longer want or believe to be damaged. These old clothes can be made into new pieces or repurposed into something else, such as making a scarf or bandanna out of an old flannel. This gives the piece new life, refreshing your wardrobe all while allowing you to be kind to the earth.
When In Doubt, Visit OXXO Cleaners That Care
Teaching children the basics of laundry care has a lot of benefits. It allows you to lessen the load on yourself, spreading out household chores and making it easier to stay on top of the weekly laundry. It also teaches responsibility and vital life skills they will use their entire life. By incorporating games, fun, and small incentives, you can make laundry for kids enjoyable and educational.
If you need some assistance with your dry cleaning or if you’re looking for a reliable, friendly laundry service, OXXO is here for you. With eco-friendly and non-toxic cleaning products and practices, we’re a dry cleaning company you can feel good about. Preserve the quality and feel of your cherished clothing items through our customized laundry services.
