CROWDSOURCE THIS, PLEASE! We want to build a great list of ideas of things kids under age 13 can do on their own. Teachers doing the Let Grow Project will hand this list to their students!
MORE IDEAS NEEDED!!! Please add them over at Let Grow!
Photo at Unsplash by @kandebonfim
Their own laundry. Make family dinner once per week. Get up and dressed. Take shower/bath unsupervised. Make simple breakfast for themselves. Collect garage/recycling and take to curb. Empty dishwasher. Walk to corner store and friends’ homes without parent. Remember to bring home homework (ie not returning to school to collect it for them).
Pack backpack for school. Meet with teacher about problems. Babysit toddlers and preschoolers. Oil a bicycle chain. Pull weeds. Water garden. Carry in groceries from the car. Go to the local school or playground to play with a friend.
When I was a kid, all the kids in the neighborhood were free-range without parental supervision. When I was six, we had a huge vacant field down the street and all the boys spent the summer down there with shovels digging forts. That was one of the most fun summers I can remember. When we weren’t doing that, we were down at the other end of the block trying to catch the tiny fish that swam in an irrigation ditch. Or we would walk a half-mile or so to the local dairy, sit on the fence and pet the cows. Kids don’t need structured activities or adults hovering to find interesting, fun things to do. They’re better off doing their own thing. Just take the leash off and let them out.
Children under 13 can help out with household chores. Do homework unsupervised, walk home form school bus,make their own lunch and stay home by themselves for an hour.