Laundry is a good life skill to build up gradually. Each stage adds one step, and by the teenage years many children can manage their own loads.
Toddlers and preschoolers
- Put dirty clothes in the basket.
- Match socks and find the pairs.
- Carry small piles to the right room.
Ages 6 to 8
- Sort clothes into lights and darks.
- Fold simple items: towels, pajamas, T-shirts.
- Put their own folded clothes away in labeled drawers.
Ages 9 to 12
- Load the machine and add detergent with supervision.
- Move clothes to the dryer or hang them up.
- Check pockets and pre-treat simple stains at the stain station.
Teens
- Run a full load from start to finish, including reading care labels.
- Wash their own clothes on a set day.
- Change and wash their own bedding.
How to teach it
Use the four steps from chores by age: show, share, support, then step back. Stick a simple picture guide near the machine with the settings you use most. Keep detergent pods and liquids out of reach of young children; Poison Control and the CPSC warn that laundry packets are a serious poisoning risk for children.
Keep it fair
Give laundry a fixed day or slot in the chore rotation chart, so it becomes routine rather than a request.
Sources & further reading
Adapt these ideas to your household. Organization guidance is general information, not medical, safety or financial advice.
