How to Create a Child-Friendly Dish Washing Station

Guiding your child to independence is not always easy. However, if we truly want to help our children be independent we must be willing to dive in and prepare the environment with the time and effort it requires. Below is an outline of how to create a dishwashing station in your home.

Why

We all have a need for belonging. This feeling that, “I’m important and I matter to my environment and to my family. “ I wanted to make sure this need was being met for my toddler, thus I setup a dishwashing station. I did not setup a dishwashing station because guiding a toddler through washing their own dishes is easy and not messy.

Learning a new skill takes time.

If you plan to share this activity with your toddler you must have the patience necessary to be supportive with your child learning how to complete the activity.

As an explicit goal, this activity is a foundational skill for independence.

Indirectly, I know that if she is able to contribute to taking care of our environment, she will develop the inner confidence to know how to do the dishes. She will also know that she is an important and integral part of taking care of our environment as a family, additionally she won’t expect me to clean up after her.

What

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