It’s that time of the year again! It’s nearly November and as we all know, in December they’ll be back! All kids love the elf on the shelf, however parents everywhere are pulling their hair out, with yet another thing to remember at this busy time of the year! Hundreds of panic filled parents are trying to think of all sorts of arrival ceremonies to introduce this little bundle of craziness back into their already bursting and chaotic lives! If this sounds like you, check out my top 5 elf arrival letters created just for your elf!
Have you got your elf arrival letter yet? Are you searching for the perfect elf on the shelf return letter ideas? Look no further! The search is over! In this post, we are going to be sharing with you some fantastic elf on the shelf arrival letters. Don’t let your little elf arrive this year without a welcome letter from Santa! Download our free printables and let’s get the Christmas season off with a bang!
Things have really stepped up in the elf wars this year, parents have added yet another dimension to the ever-increasing elf on the shelf game, apparently, now we need to have an elf arrival letter to announce the appearance of this crazy little newcomer into our home. Gone are the days that we drag him out of the plastic bag at the back of the wardrobe, shake the dust off and stick him upside down in the Christmas tree for the kids to find three days later. Oh no! This parade has turned into some kind of trooping of the colours, so buckle up, suck it up and have a peek at these elf arrival letters.
To make the elf on the shelf arrival a little bit easier for you I have created boy elf arrival letters and girl elf arrival letters in each design , just click on the download button below the elf downloadable letter and it will take you straight to the printable elf on the shelf page.
The elf on the shelf is very popular in our house and my kids love receiving their elf on the shelf welcome letter from the North Pole, they love it because it describes everything that they’ve accomplished over the past year. This year I’ve made the search easy for you by creating a free printable letter for you to leave with your elf on his arrival home!
Foryour elf arrival, I have created:
Elf on the shelf arrival letter from Santa
Boy Elf on the shelf arrival letter from Santa
Girl Elf on the shelf arrival letter from Santa
Elf on the shelf arrival letter template printable
Girl Elf on the shelf arrival letter from Santa printable
Boy Elf on the shelf arrival letter from Santa Printable
Links to all my other elf on the shelf free downloads and templates
Elf arrival letter
This is a simple elf arrival letter from Santa, which lets your child know that their elf has returned, this is an editable elf on the shelf letter, as there is space for your child’s name and also space for you to write five things that they have done well this year, and two things that they need to work hard on, for self- improvement. I love the fabulous photos of Santa I’ve included on these elves printables too! I also have designed a boy elf arrival letter and a girl elf arrival letter for you to choose from depending on your elf dynamics! I’m sure your kids will love this Elf is back letter!
This is a blank elf on the shelf printable letter. It has pretty graphics and a signature from Santa, with plenty of space for you to write your own message to your child. This is a simple elf on the shelf letter template download is great for parents with more than one elf, or if you haven’t found any letters from elf on the shelf that are a good fit for your elf! maybe you’ve got some personal message you’d like to say to your child about their behaviour this year. Or perhaps you want to tell them how much they are loved or how well they are handling a certain situation at school or home, the beauty of this free printable elf on the shelf letter is that you can make it your own!
This elf arrival letter is super cute and talks about how the elf may get into mischief! It talks about how Santa has left the elf with the child to encourage the child to teach the elf how to be good. This encourages the child to show kindness to others and supports good behaviour. It also communicates to the child that their good behaviour throughout the year has been recognised. As with the previous elf arrival letter I have made a girl elf arrival letter and a boy elf arrival letter especially for your elves!
Are you worried about getting stuck for elf on shelf arrival ideas this year or are you like me and always forgetting to move your elf? Well don’t panic I’ve got you covered! I’ve created this fabulous post with some great elf on the shelf ideas for first arrival and elf on the shelf checklist, with 25 last minute elf on the shelf arrival ideas to get you out of a pickle!
Are you looking for some Christmas colouring pages to add to your Christmas crafts box? Look no further I’ve created 10 fabulous printable elf colouring pages to get your Christmas craft party started!
What do I do with my arrival letter from elf on the shelf? When your elf on the shelf arrives in the morning, you leave the letter with your elf for your children to find. This is a very exciting moment for your kids because they love receiving letters especially one filled with all the good thing they’ve been caught doing this year!
What do I do if I have more than one elf? It can be really hard to find elf on the shelf letters which fit in with ever-changing family dynamics, the elf on the shelf letter template download is perfect for anyone who is struggling to find the perfect elf letter!
Where can I buy an elf on the shelf from? Many high street stores sell elf on a shelf, however, I prefer to get mine from Amazon, as I’ve nearly always got the kids with me when I’m out shopping! You can get your elf on the shelf from Amazon by clicking the button below!
What crazy antics does your elf on the shelf get up to? We’d love to hear your best ideas! leave us a comment below!
Look out for our next post where we will be sharing with you a fantastic elf goodbye letter to take the sting out of having to say goodbye to those crazy little elves! if you don’t want to miss a post and would like the exclusive code to unlock all our other free printables, hit the subscribe button below!
Welcome to our Christmas colouring pages to keep your kids occupied over the Christmas holidays. We have Elf colouring pages and elf worksheets for your little ones to fill in. These are a great way to keep your kids engaged at a restaurant, at home, when you need to wrap Christmas presents or write your Christmas cards!
Coloring pages are a great way for your kids to practice their fine motor skills. These worksheets will encourage your kids to use their imagination when they draw the elf’s body, you should then encourage your little ones to write their elf’s name underneath their elf coloring pages. This will help them to practice their writing skills. Don’t forget to teach your children to sign their work as this will give them some practice writing their name!
Why not leave a few elf colouring pages with your Christmas elf when the letter from Santa Clause arrives, as a little gift for all the hard work and achievements your kids have accomplished over the past year! There are ten elf colouring pages in total and three elf worksheets. I have included boy and girl elves in the bundle to match whichever elf you have at home, or you can print them all off if you prefer!
Free elf colouring pages
To print off each elf colouring page just click the link on the picture of each elf and it will take you to the free printable elf colouring page!
Have you downloaded your elf Christmas arrival letter yet? Get organised this year and download this amazing letter from Santa and let your kids know that their elf has arrived! You can head over here to download it for free!
Have you run out of ideas for your Elf this Christmas? I’ve got 25 super quick and simple elf on the shelf activities to share for when you’ve forgotten to move the little blighter. Don’t be caught out this year head on over to this post for my free elf on the shelf checklist to get you through the elf on the shelf chaos!
Well, I hope you have fun and games with all our elf on the shelf activities and Christmas coloring pages in this post. And have picked up some fun ideas for your Christmas elves. For more free checklists and printables, sign up for our weekly updates and get the exclusive access code to unlock our free resources library! Just hit the subscribe button below!
Starting primary school for the first time can be a daunting experience for both parents and children.
In this post, we will be supplying the skills you need to help your child start preparing for school activities.
We will be giving you some suggestions on how to manage the first day of primary school and get your child excited about their first day of school
We will provide you with a school ready checklist to help you get organized and to take the guesswork out of starting primary school.
Preparing for school activities: self-care
Taking responsibility self- care is a massive step in your child’s readiness for school, it teaches responsibility and gives your child an opportunity for self- improvement and higher self-esteem.
Teaching your child to brush their teeth will be fundamental to keep your school mornings running smoothly and also teaches your child responsibility and motor skills.
Getting dressed independently: Your child will be taking PE from the first week of entering primary school. They should be able to get dressed from head to toe by themselves. Consider this when buying a uniform. Young kids struggle with buttons, opt for zipped or over the head tunics, and elasticated waists. Velcro shirts instead of buttons, and velcro shoes or pumps rather than laces.
Using the bathroom: there will be no one to help your child with this basic skill at school. It is important your child is potty trained, can use the toilet independently and clean themselves properly.
Washing hands: Your child will need to be able to wash their own hands, before meals, after messy play and after using the toilet.
Using a knife and fork: Your child will need to master this skill, especially if they are going to be eating school dinners. Teach your child the easiest way to cut up their food.
Drink from a cup: It is easy to neglect this skill, with many kids using water bottles these days, however, they will need to be able to drink from a cup or glass at lunchtime in primary school.
Tidy away toys: Right from the first day at primary school, your child will be expected to tidy up after themselves, make it easy for them to master this skill by starting with clearing plates after dinner, toys after play and keeping their bedroom tidy. To learn how to introduce tidying up routines into your day click here
Follow simple directions: this needs no explanation, they’ll be told what to do at school and they need to be able to follow the teacher’s instructions, remind them how important it is to listen and to do as asked the first time!
Put on their coat and gloves: This is super important for your child to be able to do, as they will be responsible for getting their coat on at each play time and each evening before home time. A top tip is to teach your child to put their hood on first, then put their arms through the sleeves, it’s much easier as it keeps the sleeves in place.
Unwrapping their own food and snacks, opening lunchboxes and packets of food, opening drinks bottles, so they don’t struggle at break times.
School readiness checklist for pre-schoolers
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School readiness activities for pre-schoolers
Learning new skills is a rocky road for little ones, we can do many things at home to prepare our children and help them when they are starting primary school.
Learn phonics. I would say that this was the singularly most important thing I did for my kids. Phonics is the building block of all stages of reading and the quicker your children master this the quicker they will learn to read. With just a few simple songs my kids were reading before they started school. I used the jolly phonics system and just spent half an hour each day singing the songs with my kids, we coupled that with the biff and chip reading oxford tree reading books, both my kids loved this time we spent together and didn’t even realise they were learning. Once they can read their school day will become a lot easier and their writing and spelling will improve.
To check out the jolly phonics songs watch below!
For the full set of Biff and Chip books, I used for helping both my kids to learn to read, click on the link below to be taken straight to Amazon.
Practice writing and colouring, this doesn’t need to be perfect but it will help your child get skilled at holding a pencil. Practice writing your child’s name and get him to copy it until they can do it without looking.
Teach your child how to use scissors and glue and how to build a model.
Read and read to your child; this is one of the most important things you can do to help your child’s reading skills.
Practice the journey to and from school so they get used to the route and how long it takes.
Everything to buy for a child starting primary school
Uniform: I start shopping for school uniform in June as by the time July is over the shops stop stocking uniforms and it’s very difficult to find what you need. I tend to prefer to buy my kid’s uniform from the supermarket as I’d rather have ample supply to avoid the Sunday washing and ironing panic. The jumper with logo should be bought from an approved supplier.
Name tags: I have tried the iron on type of tags but found they soon peeled off, I’ve tried a stamper but found that it wasn’t too good on their property and soon faded on clothes. I now use stickers which seem to hold well and don’t fade. I get mine from My Name Tags you can personalize with pictures for your child, so they can easily recognize their items when getting changed for PE. Make sure every single garment they are wearing to school gets labelled, you’d be surprised what they come home with that isn’t theirs!
PE kit and pump bag: This should include a t-shirt, shorts and pumps. For the winter I pack my kids a sweatshirt and joggers as hey still go outside for PE on freezing cold days! Again make sure all of this should be labelled including the pump bag itself!
Bookbag: this should be supplied by your school approved store.
Lunchbox and water bottle. , and also any Tupperware or cutlery should be labelled. In my experience, Tupperware and cutlery rarely make it back home so I would avoid packing it and would use tin foil and disposable spoons instead. I would also include a small ziplock bag in their lunchbox and teach them to put their rubbish in there, unless you want a box covered in stale yoghurt when they get home!
Shoes: I spend the most money on my kid’s school shoes out of all the uniform as their feet are growing and they are wearing their footwear for numerous hours each day.
Coat: this needs to be thick and warm enough to withstand the bitterly cold winter playground.
Starting primary school checklist
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At most primary schools, children are discouraged from bringing in their own pens pencils and books to prevent any arguments, don’t be tempted to buy stationery or toys for your child to take to school as it is likely they will have them confiscated.
Preparing your child for primary school
There are many things you can do to make the transition to primary school as smooth as possible for your little one.
Talk to your child about school as much as you can. Chat with your child about their day, what time they start, what time school finishes and who will pick them up, do this with a positive vibe!
The more a child knows the less they worry, it’s a bit like us starting a new job.
Ask your child how they feel about starting school and talk them through any worries they may have.
Use sentences like these when chatting about school :
” You’re so lucky to be able to stay at school all day today; you’ll have so much fun.”
“Because you’re a big boy they might let you have school dinners.”
“It’s very exciting because there are so many new and exciting things to try.”
“Guess what; you’ll be able to make lots of models at the after-school club “
“Oh, how exciting its only four days till you start school, I bet you can’t wait!”
” You’re so lucky, I loved school, I wish I was going to primary school again it was so much fun!”
“I’m excited for you.”
“I can’t wait to see…….. ”
” I can’t wait to hear about………”
Do not use words like these:
“I’ll miss you.”
“I’m sad,”
Meet the teachers: some schools arrange a home visit where the teacher comes to your house and has a chat with your child before they start school, I highly recommend you arrange this if at all possible.
Use your child’s teachers name during lots of conversations to create familiarity.
Go to the welcome meeting: there should be a welcome meeting for you to attend at school, to inform you of anything you may need to know about your child’s class.
Make sure your child attends the transition days especially scheduled to help your child settle into their first day at primary school.
Chat with your child about lunchtime and ask them if they’d prefer packed lunch or school dinners, talk them through what happens at lunchtime.
Arrange a playdate if you know of another child starting in the same school.
Make sure all your child’s clothes are fully labelled.
Make sure your child is up to date with immunisations, eye tests and dental examinations.
The night before your child starts primary school
Get your child to bed super early.
Layout uniforms including underwear and shoes, explain to your child that they need to get dressed to shoes before they come downstairs on school mornings. This will make your mornings 100% smoother, especially if you are likely to have multiple kids in primary school in future years.
Put book bags and coats in a spot at the door and let your child know where it is. Use this spot every day so your child knows where to pick up their things before they head out of the door, this will save lost items and a major scramble to find stuff on the hectic school mornings.
On the first day of school
Hopefully, after the months of preparation, you have been doing with your child they should be confident and happy about starting school, however, its human nature to be scared. There are still some things you can do today to keep your child calm.
Plenty of pep talk and positive reiteration about how amazing his day is going to be, when you wake up, at breakfast and on the way to school.
Arrive early, so your child is not overwhelmed by lots of children in the playground, if you are one of the first ones there, your child will arrive in a calm, serene environment which will steadily become busier rather than arrive in the chaos of the first day back!
Hold your child’s hand in the playground if they seem nervous, they need your support today more than ever, remember to stay positive no matter how you feel!
Focus on your child rather than making friends with other mums or worrying about how you feel, your child needs you to be there for them. There will be plenty of time for small talk at pick up!
When leaving your child, give them a quick cuddle and kiss then direct them in, no looking back! If your child sees you looking back with a sad face, they will sense that there is something wrong and come running back out to you and you’ll never get them back in without a fight! This will be traumatic for both you and your child and may set them off in the habit to do this every morning!
As hard as it is, if you linger with a cuddle, they will suddenly panic and get clingy, and you’ll start their day off to a bad start.
Do not cry! This is the hardest thing to do, but wait until you’re in the car for a sob!
When picking your child up from school, make sure you arrive early and stand where your child can see you when he’s gathering his belongings at home time, don’t be the parent who’s kid stands terrified at the door worrying that you’re not coming!
If you’ve got a little one starting school this year, I hope you’ve managed to pick up a few tips from this post.
It’s going to be a harder day for you than your little one, as soon as the bell rings your child will have forgotten all about their nerves and probably won’t give you a second thought until home time!
Anger can arise from various triggers like a feeling of being attacked, powerless and vulnerable. When we have low self-esteem or have had a bad day and don’t feel great about ourselves it’s easier to react to certain triggers. It’s more common to snap at your child for having an untidy room when you’ve had a bad day at work than it would be if you were having a fabulous day and were in a great mood. Common factors that can contribute to us becoming an angry parent are:
Lack of sleep
Low self esteem
Being overwhelmed
Being over tired and exhausted
Having had a bad day
Lack of support
Lack of time and an overly-busy schedule
Unresolved emotions from childhood
Financial worries
It is important to know what your triggers are and how to recognise some of the common signs of anger such as:
Faster heart rate
Clenching teeth
Sweating
Tension in the body
Breathing heavily
Feeling out of control and agitated.
With our overpacked schedules and lack of parental support, it is difficult to carve out time for ourselves to recharge, and it is easy to find ourselves getting overwhelmed and angry at certain situations. You can learn how to control your anger with your child by learning how to practise some mindfulness techniques, which will help to feel better about yourself and help you deal with your parenting anger in a much less reactive way. This post discusses seven mindful ways to be a less angry parent and touches upon some anger management tips for parents to help you parent mindfully.
It’s always a pleasure to find like-minded people to share these pages with. Jennifer Mazzoni is a respected writer, meditation coach, and authority in mindfulness techniques. When she accepted my invitation to share her knowledge, information and wisdom with my readers, I was thrilled and I know you will be too. In this guest post, Jennifer discusses seven ways in which mindfulness can help you become a less angry parent. So without any further ado here’s Jennifer!
Ways To Be A Less Angry Parent
Parents yell at their children…sometimes on a daily basis. Parents may yell for good reason, such as when your children are being unsafe, but most parents yell for various reasons: we react out of instinct or we feel overwhelmed and stressed. We may feel awful after we’ve yelled, not wanting to be that angry parent we never thought we’d become.
Practising mindfulness does not make us perfect parents. Mindfulness is about “paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment non-judgmentally.” (Jon Kabat-Zinn, source)
Mindfulness is not a cure-all for the stress and wide range of emotions that we experience as parents. But there are many opportunities for us to practice mindfulness each day to help us find joy and contentment in everyday life.
1. Pause, Breathe, and Respond
Temper tantrums. The phrase alone can cause tension and stress in parents. When your child is having a temper tantrum or misbehaving in general, the parental instinct is to react by shouting and doing your best to get your child to stop. However, reacting is not always the best option, because we are allowing emotions and our fight or flight instinct (which increases our stress levels) to guide us rather than the logical part of our brain, the prefrontal cortex. (source)
When we pause and take a breath while our child is throwing a tantrum or misbehaving terribly (as challenging as this may seem), we can become mindful of the situation and form a response instead of relying on a gut reaction.
Our responses do not need to be perfect or right every time, all parents make mistakes and handle things poorly, but pausing and taking a breath before responding to a stressful situation with our children is better for everyone involved. Being mindful reduces the parent’s stress level: deep breathing works wonders for activating the prefrontal cortex, reducing cortisol, and activating the parasympathetic nervous system- the one that calms down the flight or flight reaction. (source) Our children will appreciate not being yelled at or scolded constantly on a daily basis, as well.
2. Clean mindfully
Washing dishes, doing laundry, dusting, and other household chores can become daunting for parents trying to juggle work, caring for children, hobbies, etc. When we feel overwhelmed it can cause stress, which can lead to becoming easily irritated and snapping at our children. It’s all about mindset when it comes to cleaning. When we call something a chore it may send a message to us for the chore be perceived as a drudgery, something we must do that we won’t enjoy.
Mindfulness helps us become more aware of our sensory experiences as we complete a household task, such as washing dishes. First, we can use several of our senses: feeling the warmth of the water, watching the soap bubbles pop and expand, smelling the dish soap as it mixes with the warm water, and admiring the shine and sparkle of a clean dish.
We can also take mindful cleaning a step further by thinking about the purpose of washing the dishes, laundry, dusting. We are providing a clean and healthy environment for our families when we complete these household tasks. And perhaps we will not be thanked by anyone for this, it can be helpful to express self-gratitude and acknowledge our actions to care for others. Mindfulness can help the angry parent to take the first step towards in acknowledging parental anger issues, and towards seeking help to be a less angry parent.
3. Enjoy a Mindful Meal or Snack
When is the last time you tasted what you were eating? Meals can become another part of the day that we try to “get through” as we rush through our routine. If we want to practice mindfulness, we can use mealtime as an opportunity to observe and be aware of what we are eating (but not necessarily from a health or dieting perspective).
Choose the meal or snack of your choice, and take the time to create a beautiful display on your plate with your food. You don’t have to be all Gordon Ramsay about it but have fun “plating” your meal or snack. As you arrange the items, notice the texture of the food with your fingers, and take a moment to smell what you will be eating. Smelling our food helps enhance the taste.
Finally, chew slowly. Take your time eating, and actually taste your food. Observe the textures of the food in your mouth, noting any crunchiness or smoothness.
If you want to take this a step further, try a mindful snack with your children. They’ll enjoy the opportunity to “play” with their food by creating a design on their plate.
4. Practice Gratitude
Another way to be a less angry parent is to adopt an attitude of gratitude. Instead of focusing on what we want or what we don’t have, we shift our attention to all we do have.
One way to practice gratitude is to keep a journal. At the end of each day, perhaps before you brush your teeth, write down one or two things for which you are thankful. Some days it may be a challenge to think of one, and other days it may be hard to narrow it down. But the point of the exercise is we always have something to be thankful for, which can help us experience greater happiness and contentment when parenting.
5. Meditate
Despite the many benefits of meditation and its positive impact on the brain, it can be challenging for parents to find time to actually sit down and meditate. My rule of thumb for taking time to meditate is if you have twenty minutes to scroll through social media (or whatever you enjoy doing on your phone), you can carve out five of those minutes to sit and focus on your breath.
Meditation can be practised first thing in the morning (before the children are awake), during part of your lunch break at work (if you have privacy and enough time to do so), or in the evening after the children have gone to bed.
Taking a few minutes out of your day to focus on the feeling of your breath as you inhale and exhale can be a refreshing way to start your day or a reset button for the middle of a stressful (or ordinary) day. Meditation with eyes closed can also provide a sensory break from the visual stimuli we are bombarded with in our daily lives.
6. Social Media Detox
Social media is fun and engaging, and it’s a wonderful way to make new friends and interact with people from all over the world. But, sometimes there can be too much of a good thing, and there are parts of social media that are pretty toxic (for example, the comments section of most news articles – even ones that are about a positive topic).
Social media may connect us to a virtual world but it often disconnects us from the people who are directly in front of us. It’s not easy to disconnect yourself from social media. It can be quite enjoyable to have people comment on and like what we post, but it can take away from quality time with our children. As a family, you can work together to set some social media/phone use guidelines, such as: Agreed upon “phone away” times, such as during meals, family time, and/or an hour before bed Using a basket with your family’s name on it or decorated in some way to collect all phones (parents too)
Less social media/phone time can lead to more quality time with family and friends. Children require attention, not just for behavioural reasons but also for their social-emotional growth. Thich Nhat Hanh has said that “the most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”
7. Finally, Don’t Forget to Have Fun
There are so many daily activities that can go from ordinary to extraordinary when we do them mindfully. A nature walk can become a scavenger hunt using many of the senses. You can turn on music for your children and have an impromptu dance party. Join in when your children are colouring. There are so many ways we can pause, be aware, enjoy the present moment and appreciate being a less angry parent.
Thank you, Jennifer, for such a wonderful insight into mindful parenting and how to be less angry parents. Being more mindful with our kids is something we could all benefit from, and your tips on how to be less angry when parenting has given us all something to work on, throughout our own parenting journey.
Frequently asked Q&A
Can meditation teach me how to be less angry? Mindfulness and meditation teach us how to be present and pause before we react as Jennifer mentioned above, creating a pause before we react gives us time to think through a situation rather than reacting straight away and regretting our response. It can certainly help us on our journey to be less angry.
Can meditation and mindfulness teach me how to stop anger in my child? Sometimes children get angry due to frustration and an inability to communicate or they may feel that they are not being listened to. A child as young as a toddler can be taught some breathing techniques to help them calm down during a tantrum. Mindfulness techniques can also be useful to help teenagers learn how to be less angry during stressful situations at home and school.
How does an angry parent affect a child? Being constantly shouted at can shatter a child’s self-esteem and confidence and can leave a child feeling anxious and worried. Learning how to stop being an angry parent is crucial to your child’s long-term mental health.
What can I do if I’ve lost my temper with my child? The first thing to do if you’ve shouted at your child is to apologise for your parent anger. This lets them know that you are sorry for yelling and that you could have handled the situation better. Explain to them that you’ll try not to react that way next time and that you want to set a good example.
Parenting a toddler is hard, are there any tips on anger management for parents of toddlers? Parenting a toddler can be one of the hardest things you can ever experience, I found it an incredibly frustrating and difficult time. firstly try to make sure you have plenty of parental support from family and friends so you don’t get so overwhelmed. Try to remember that your child is not deliberately pushing your buttons! Take some deep breaths and remember that they haven’t got the skills to cope with their situation and you need to help them through it no matter how difficult they are being. I found that if I gave myself twice as long as I needed to get ready to go out with my child I remained a lot calmer when they refused to budge! so for instance, if you think it will take an hour to get your child dressed and ready for preschool, schedule two hours to account for all the ups and downs along the way! This can help you practice being a calm parent instead of the angry parent you can turn into when you’re faced with an uncooperative toddler!
If you have an angry preschooler and are at a loss as to how to help them through the hitting and biting stage, read how changing the way we reacted to our child made all the difference to my son’s aggressive behaviour, and how we helped him become calmer and happier, just click the button below!
Often anger can be made worse when we feel overwhelmed and tired. It can be difficult to take care of ourselves due to lack of time and money. I have created an amazing self-care sheet specifically aimed at busy parents who are both short of time and money. The self-care checklist starts with five minute self-care suggestions and also self-care suggestions for when you have up to an hour to spend. Most of them you can practice at home spending little or no money at all. If you’d like to read my self-care post and download my free self-care checklist click on the button below!
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What do you do stop yourself from being an angry parent? Contact us below in the comments!
About the Guest Blogger:
Jennifer Mazzoni, Founder of HelpMamaMeditate.com
Jennifer Mazzoni
Jennifer created her blog Help Mama Meditate to help others find balance and harmony in their lives, as she herself learns how to practice mindfulness as a mom of two young daughters.
She is currently enrolled in the Unified Mindfulness Foundations program to enhance her mindfulness and meditation coaching skills and resources.
Jennifer provides meditation and mindfulness advice through her blog Help Mama Meditate. She leads weekly guided meditations via Facebook Live.
Feedspot.com recently named Help Mama Meditate a top 40 meditation blog.
Jennifer was also interviewed on the Moms Who Know podcast regarding motherhood and meditation.
A writer at heart, Jennifer also contributes to The Tattooed Buddha and Sivana.
A rehab speech pathologist by background, Jennifer began meditating during the stressful times of graduate school ten years ago. Jennifer lives in Chicago with her husband, two daughters, and King Charles Cavalier Spaniel.
Are your kids kicking up a stink when you ask them to help out around the house? Are you struggling to find age appropriate chores for your family to help with? Are you sick of looking at your older kids untidy room? Do you wish you had a system that actually worked? Well look no further than our amazing free printable kids chore charts for kids of all ages and abilities!
From a very young age, kids love to help out, I’m going to show you how to tap into their eagerness to learn and get your toddlers, tweens and teens to be self-reliant. I’ll give you strategies to help you create your own kid’s chore charts. I’ve created these beautiful age-appropriate responsibility charts, for kids of all ages, and they’re waiting for you to download for free from our amazing printable resources library!
From toddlers to teenagers, it can be a struggle for parents to get their kids to help out. I’m going to give you some strategies to get your kids to create great habits one simple step at a time.
The benefits of using printable kids chore charts.
The main reason we use a chore chart in our house is as a motivational tool, my kids love to tick jobs off on their kid’s chore list after they’ve compleated them. I use it as a responsibility chart to help them understand the jobs that need to be done every morning and every evening before they watch television or have screen time. Using printable kids chore charts helps stop any arguments and helps establish a routine.
Now the kids have gone back to school there is no better time to start to use my free printable kids chore charts to help get homework, spellings, reading and showers done in the evenings.
Kids screen time chore charts
I use these printable kids chore charts as a routine to help my kids be responsible for their own jobs before they have any screen time in the mornings or after school. My kids know they have to tick off all their responsibilities before they watch tv or have screen time. this cuts out any misunderstandings and helps prevent any drama! To read more about how to get your kids off electronics click here
I bought a cheap laminator and get my kids to tick when their jobs are done. Just click on the button to download your free printable kids chore charts.
We are not trying to get our kids to do hundreds of jobs around the house and we are not trying to offload our responsibilities onto our kids. We are striving to create one great habit at a time to enable our kids to learn the skills they need to carry them through life.
Giving kids chores enables the whole house to work as a team.
Allows them to see how the household runs.
Lets them see how much work is involved in getting chores done.
Gives them valuable skills to take with them throughout life
Builds self-esteem and confidence
Helps them learn life skills and helps with self-improvement
Gets kids off electronics and broadens interests
Gets children learning by measuring, weighing and reading quantities.
Kids spend time outside in the fresh air when performing outdoor chores
We are not suggesting that your children should be doing the work of an adult in the house, but simple kids chores which they already enjoy gives them a sense of value within the family.
How to create an age-appropriate kids chore chart.
You know the struggle if you’ve ever asked a kid to do something, they drag their knuckles and grunt some response, while eye rolling all at the same time.
My daughter will do any chore for you if she thinks there’s something at the end of it for her.
My son will help out if it is his idea, however, if you ask him to do anything for you then he’s not so keen! He will, also, however, sell his soul for a sticker!
Kids love helping out, especially small children they enjoy:
Spraying and wiping
Bubbles and water
Cooking
Mixing and baking
Measuring
Sorting
Pushing buttons
You know your child better than anyone, think about the jobs that they continually ask to do with you and jot them down, you’ll need this later when it’s time to create your children’s chore chart.
If your kids can use a remote control, iPad, or games console without any problem at all, then they should have no trouble working the washing machine!
Toddler chore chart printable with pictures.
age appropriate toddler chore chart
Toddlers should be given simple age-appropriate tasks as soon as they can make a mess!
For instance, little tiny kids love dropping things in boxes and tubs so putting stuff away is all part of the fun for them.
Toddlers are starting to learn self-care, but are also at the stage where they love to say no! A toddler chore chart with simple self-care tasks is a great way to reward your toddler for the simple little things they do without a fuss such as:
Brushing their teeth
Tiding toys and books
Dusting especially with a feather duster!
Getting dressed
Putting their clothes in the laundry basket
Setting the table
Making their bed
Teach your toddler one skill from the list above and keep repeating this task every day.
I’ve created a fabulous toddler chore chart, which your toddler will love! Give your toddler a sticker each time they achieve this daily skill then reward them at the end of the week with something they love to do, like a visit to the park.
Once this skill has become a habit for your toddler, you can then teach them another choice from the list and replace it on the chart.
Do not swamp your little one with more than one task; you’re trying to create good habits, not a list of jobs for your toddler. At this stage, there should only be one job on the chart for them to master.
Blank Toddler chore chart template
Age 4-6 years chore chart jobs
Kids in primary school still have the eagerness to learn new skills and the eagerness to please, so it’s still a great time to teach new skills to support their learning at school. Being able to look after and feed a pet is also a great way to teach your kids responsibility and to introduce the concept that there are other priorities in the house to tend to.
It’s super important for you to sit down with your child and teach them how to compleat the job correctly and where they will find all the equipment to use, and how to tidy everything away afterwards. It is vital that they know how to do a job from start to finish.
All previous chores
Wiping table and placemats
Feeding pets
Keeping their room tidy
Making breakfast
Helping with recycling
Washing dishes
Age 6-8 years chore chart jobs
At this age, children’s skill sets are increasing, and they can have a little bit more responsibility for themselves such as getting swimming kits ready, preparing packed lunches and making lunches on the weekends. Children of this age still have a keenness to learn new skills and enjoy helping out, so it is reasonably straightforward to teach them some new skills.
All above chores
Basic food preparation
Making lunch
Washing and drying dishes
Taking out the rubbish
Filling up the dishwasher
Pulling out weeds
Making drinks for the family
Helping to bring in the shopping and unpacking
Making packed lunches for school
Packing up sports kits
Age 8-10 chore chart jobs
Although their skill set is increasing even further, it can be an age where kids like to complain about chores and doing jobs. It’s important at this stage to remember to try to adapt your child’s chore chart with jobs they love doing, remember that you’re still trying to create good habits, not offload your work!
Walking the dog
Stripping the beds
Folding towels
Emptying the dishwasher
Putting garden toys away, such as bikes etc
Taking wheelie bins out and bringing them back in.
Cleaning out pets cages.
Age 11 plus chore chart jobs.
We are at the critical age where it’s almost impossible to try to get your kids to do anything unless you’ve already developed ingrained habits from a young age as described in the paragraphs above. Try to remember your teenager is going through a lot of physical changes, has a tremendous amount of pressure at school, may be struggling to find their feet within friendship groups and many other substantial emotional issues which can see them retreat into themselves quite a lot.
It is important not to force the issue but to encourage teamwork for teenagers. If you’ve got a teenager who likes to be alone, they may enjoy the solitude of taking the dog out for a walk each morning. They may fancy helping you to cook the dinner.
This isn’t a time to ramp up the number of jobs on your teenager’s chore chart, but to instead simplify it only to include jobs they enjoy.
Folding washing
Putting away their own laundry
Load washing and tumble dryer
Put new bedding on their bed
Helping with meals
Cleaning their personal space in their room
Printable Family chore chart checklist
Family chore chart template
How to teach your kids to do chores.
Talk your kids through one chore from the list, carefully and patiently show them how to do the task together, you’ll find your kids enjoy spending one on one time with you, particularly if you chat while you are doing the chore. Kids love learning new stuff.
Give your kids a one job at a time, make it their responsibility and let them take pride in doing it well. Give them plenty of praise each time they do it; this is great for their self-esteem.
Add one job at a time, so they don’t get overwhelmed, they will learn each skill correctly, this will build self-confidence and self-esteem and is great for morale.
Kids love messy jobs, buttons, bubbles, water and measuring, so washing up, putting the laundry in the machine or drier and measuring laundry powder or weighing ingredients are perfect jobs for little ones of all ages.
Get your kids to make breakfast when they’re old enough, they love the responsibility of buttering and spreading jam on bread or toast and sploshing milk into cereal. This is a great way to start their interest in cooking and helping with mealtimes
Setting the table helps them to feel part of the mealtime preparation and makes them feel part of a team.
Get your kids to tidy up as they go along if they were able to get the toys out, they are equally able to put them away again; this instils a sense of responsibility for their belongings and their environment.
Give your kids a laundry basket in their bedroom and ask them to bring it downstairs when you’re doing the laundry, see how to implement this technique in this post, this will help to create good habits and help keep bedroom floors free from dirty laundry!
Set a timer! Kids love a race and love working against a timer, see who can collect the most, you or your kids!
Only give your child a couple of chores per day, you can rotate duties each week if you want them to learn new skills.
Have fun; it’s going to take twice as long do all the chores at first but have fun and play to your child’s strengths. My daughter hates recycling but loves to squeegee the shower, my son loves recycling but dislikes hanging things up.
Give your kids chores they enjoy doing! Remember you’re not trying to do less work yourself, you’re striving to create good habits and life skills in your kids, and it should be fun for everyone,
Habits, when ignited in youngsters, are hard to break, make sure they are good habits!
Teenager chore chart
Younger kids love nothing better than spending time with their parents, so this is a great way to reward kids for compleating their charts, whether it’s taking each child out on their own, for some quality time or planning a family day out, it’s up to you which works best for your family. This teenager chore chart is great for helping your teenager get my earning it by working hard and being part of the team and helps them see how much they can save.
kids chore chart
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Frequently asked Q&A
Where can I find printable chore charts for a teenager?
As outlined above, our printable teenager template chore chart is perfect as it is customisable so you can add your own chores to the chart following the guidelines in the post for age appropriate chores.
Should kids do chores?
This is a parenting call, the reason I use a chore chart for kids is to build self esteem, assume personal responsibility, and encourage team work.
What is a good age to teach kids to do chores?
my kids started to learn personal responsibility as soon as they could walk. if they got it out they were encouraged to put it away. If I brushed their teeth they got a sticker on their chart , its all about encouraging good habits!
How do I convince my 9 year old daughter to do chores in the house?
I would start by doing some fun chores together like making breakfast, folding washing, making lunch. She will enjoy spending time with you and not realise she’s helping you. It’s better to teach life skills than to expect your child to graft around the house!
All my free printable kids chore charts are available to unlock in our resources library when you subscribe to our weekly updates!
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