Laundry is one of those chores that never really go away. For a tween, learning how to do laundry is something they should know how to do for when they go out on their own. While it may not become one of the chores they do all the time, they at least need to learn the basics of taking care of their clothes. Even tween boys should be involved in the task of learning how to do laundry. It is just as important for them to learn how to take care of their clothes.
Laundry can be complicated at times. So start your tween off with a simple load to get them comfortable with your machine. Important concepts that will need repetition are the amount of soap to use, the machine settings, water temperature, and laundry separation. Don’t expect your tween to learn all of this information with a single load of laundry. Like other things, doing the laundry requires practice before it becomes perfect.
More important concepts, such as how to fight stains, can be addressed when they occur. Learning how to deal with set in stains is also something you should address with your tween. After all, as teens and college students, they probably aren’t going to notice every stain on their outfits at the time they are made.
Remember to include your tween in the entire process — and that includes the folding and putting them away. After all, laundry isn’t officially done until it is on hangers in a closet or folded neatly in a drawer. Yes, you are going to have to demonstrate folding techniques. Again, practice makes perfect on folding.
You don’t want to be picky if they don’t do things exactly your way on every single item. Give them some leeway on figuring out their own workable technique. The important thing is that the laundry is done and that it was your tween that did it.
As a parent, you don’t have to take on the responsibility of that never-ending pile of laundry alone. Your tween is old enough to learn the process of this chore that is going to follow them into adulthood. It is even important for boys to get involved because they won’t always be close enough for mom to bail them out.