Getting Kids To Do Laundry

Parents have handled laundry for so many years that the steps involved are practically automatic. Your children can learn to wash and dry their own clothes, but they're going to need a little guidance.

• Since most light and dark fabrics can be washed together in cold water these days, a lot of the sorting we used to think was necessary isn't, and it is reasonable to have a child wash a load of his own clothes as soon as it accumulates.

• But if you're still in charge of laundry, you might want to teach a child to save you time by checking clothes before tossing them into the hamper, turn right-side-out pockets, empty them, close zippers. Fortunately, wet dollar bills do dry and are none the worse for inadvertant washings.

• One mom I know doesn't launder clothes that aren't turned inside out; eventually, her kids got the idea.

• Post a stain removal chart in a convenient place, and urge the kids to remove stains as soon as possible.

• Help avoid widowed socks by reminding kids to pin the pairs together as they take them off. They can be stored that way in drawers too, or have them wash and dry all socks in a zippered pillow case and prepare them for storage by stuffing one sock into its mate.

• Most parents expect their kids to fold and put away their own clothes. If you do it for them, why should they bother?

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