Toddler Tuesdays - with Jess

Ladies, I am so excited to have the lovely Jess here on the blog today talking about life with a toddler.  I am just absolutely loving this series and know that us mama's have a lot to share with each other.  Jess is an amazing woman! She has her own etsy shop where she makes the most adorable hair accessories all are inspired by her sweet girl Sadie and she just recently made the most exciting decision to be a SAHM!! I am so jealous of her being able to spend all her time with her sweet girl.  Another thing that I love about Jess is that she and I are kindered spirits, she lives out in the country and has horses!!

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Hey guys! My name is Jess and you can find me over at Sadie Sky Boutique blogging and running my Etsy shop! I'm married to my high school sweetheart (we just celebrated our 11 year wedding anniversary...gosh, we're getting old!) and have one sweet little lady named Sadie who just turned 2 last month. We live in Texas, about an hour north of Dallas/Ft. Worth and absolutely love our quiet little country life! I'm also a brand new, recently turned SAHM after quitting my full time job as an X-Ray tech and so, I'm learning just how much fun (and tiring) keeping up with a toddler 24/7 really is!

I was so excited when Ashley invited me to be a part of this series and I've really enjoyed reading all of the guest posts so far! Hands down, my most favorite part of blogging and having a small business is "meeting" and connecting with fellow mama's, whether they be bloggers, customers, fellow shop owners, etc. It really is such a wonderful community full of support and encouragement and I'm so happy to be a part of it!

Today I thought it would be fun to talk a little bit about toddler chores and a few ideas on how to get your little one involved in some household duties. Let's be honest, we are dealing with toddlers here...and with them often comes short attention spans and moods that swing from one extreme to the next! However, I've found that most kids are natural helpers at this age and so, here at our house, we try to use that as a way to teach Sadie that she can chip in with some of our {many} daily duties! Here are a few ways that she enjoys helping us around the house and keep in mind that I'm using the term "chores" very loosely here...we don't have a set list of things that she has to do, but rather we naturally try to work a few of these into our routine each day:

Caring for pets

If you don't already know us, I should tell you that we have lots of animals...3 big dogs, 2 horses and a bunny. One of Sadie's most favorite "chores" is to help feed and take care of all of our critters. Once she started expressing interest in this area, we really tried to encourage it. We found her a mini bucket that's perfect for her to carry a serving of grain for one of the horses in and I keep our bunny's food and treats down within her reach so that she can easily grab him a handful of hay or a pinch of oatmeal (his favorite!) while we feed him and clean his hutch each night. She also loves to help feed the dogs and will gather up their bowls and pour in their food as we measure it out. She just recently started asking to "give puppies water," so we set aside a small plastic jug that we can fill up with a little bit water and she happily carries it over and pours it right into their bowl.

Picking up Toys

Another great way to get your little one to help is by teaching them to pick up their toys. Sure, there are plenty of days when Sadie practices her selective hearing skills and completely blows me off when I ask her to pick up her toys, but for the most part, she's happy to at least help me tidy them up. She knows that if she's done playing with say, her blocks, that we need to pick all of them up before we start pulling out puzzles or beads or coloring stuff. We still have 8,000 toys and/or bracelets and necklaces strewn around our house at any given time, but having her do her share just in those small ways helps lighten my load a bit and {I hope} is helping teach her to take care of the things that she has.

Helping with dishes

Since all of her dishes are plastic, I'll often ask her to put her snack bowl in the sink once she's finished whatever she's eating. She's always happy to walk over and drop it in and I've noticed that sometimes after a meal, she'll even take her plate and/or utensils over and do the same, without us even asking. Obviously she can't even see over the counter or into the sink, but she's tall enough now to wear she can easily reach up and toss them in if she wants to. This also brings me to another way that she loves to hep out...unloading the dishwasher! One day, months ago, she really wanted to help with the silverware so I quickly pulled out all of the knives (and other sharp stuff) and let her go to town. Now whenever I unload it when she's around, she immediately comes over and starts handing me each piece of silverware, the straws for her cups, etc. and we put them away together.

Helping at mealtimes

I cook a lot at our house and have found easy ways for Sadie to "help" in this area, especially now that it's summertime! She loves to shuck corn so we'll take it outside on the deck and sit down together to get the job done. If her daddy is grilling something, she's a great little helper when it comes to taking him things like BBQ sauce and a brush or sometimes she'll stay in with me and lend a hand in putting together a pasta salad or a simple side dish.

Helping at the grocery store or while running errands

Sadie is usually with me whenever I get groceries and we all know what a party grocery shopping with a toddler can be! I've found that keeping her engaged with what I'm doing (and giving her snacks!) helps tremendously and our trips are usually fun for both of us! She especially loves to help put produce in bags as we pick it out and her favorite part is when it come time to check out. I'll usually say things like, "Okay, get the carrots!" or "Find the toothpaste!" and she's always happy and eager to do so...not to mention the people around us get a total kick out of it! She also LOVES to go to the post office with me and really is an honest-to-goodness great helper when I have a bunch of shop orders and packages to drop off!

There are just a few of the ways we encourage our toddler to help with daily chores and duties! Like most any parents, we want Sadie to grow up learning that she should respect and take care of what she has, pick up after herself and be willing to chip in and help whenever needed. I think that by setting the example early on and keeping her involved in small chores at this young age, that all of those things will come more natural to her as she gets older. At least a mama can dream, right?! Keep in mind that, often times, letting your little one help means that that whatever you're doing is probably going to take a little longer than if you just did it yourself and that sometimes there might be a mess involved (like when they are trying to dump the dog food in a bowl and miss!) Try to not let that detour you from letting those little hands get involved! If Sadie makes a mess or a spill, I always tell her that it's ok and try to use it as an opportunity to teach her how to clean it up. Over the past few months she really has become a great little helper and it's made me enjoy simple little chores more by having her by by side, lending a hand! 

We would like to say a big thanks to Ashely for having us today and if you have any fun ideas for getting your toddler involved in helping you out, we would love to hear them!

xoxo

Sadie Sky Boutique Sadie Sky Boutique

I am telling you I love this girl and am so happy that she was able to share these awesome tips with me and all my precious readers!!  Thank you Jess for your wisdom!

♥ Ashley

If you are interested in contributing to this series, I would LOVE to have you guest post about your life with a toddler! Just shoot me a comment or email and I will get you on the schedule!!!