Jessa Duggar's Laundry Hack Is An Important Reminder For Parents Of Toddlers

As someone who is overwhelmed with four children, I can't begin to imagine what Michelle Duggar must have felt like with her brood of 19. When growing up with 18 brothers and sisters, however, you apparently learn some tricks along the way. As it turns out, Jessa has some serious wisdom to offer when it comes to raising children. Because Jessa Duggar's laundry hack also teaches toddler to help out.

In case you need a refresher, the Counting On star is a mom of three young kiddos. Jessa and her husband Ben Seewald have twos sons, Spurgeon, 3, and Henry, 2, and one daughter, Ivy, who is coming up on 4 months old. Between caring for an infant and running around their toddler sons, the Seewalds definitely have their hands full these days. But it seems they've discovered a way to both get chores accomplished at home and to occupy their sons in a productive way.

On Friday, Sept. 20, Jessa took to Instagram to share a video of her oldest son, Spurgeon, switching over clean laundry from the washer to the dryer, according to In Touch Weekly. "As I was laying Henry and Ivy down for naps, Spurgeon shouted from the hallway (which is also our laundry room), 'Hey Mommy, it just beeped!'— meaning, the washer‘s cycle was finished," she captioned the post. "He LOVES to help me move clothes from the washer to the dryer.I was still feeding the little one, so told him he could go ahead and transfer the laundry while I watched from the bedroom."

Jessa went on to explain that Spurgeon proceeded to grab the clothing, item by item — with a few falling onto the floor in the process — and placing it into the dryer. This was apparently the first time the 3-year-old had completed this task all by himself, and he was "super excited" about his accomplishment.

"I know as a parent, it’s easy to rush around, doing a bulk of the work by myself because it’s way faster," Jessa continued. "But little kids love to take part in meaningful tasks with mom and dad."

It’s good for us to slow down, let them come alongside us and feel the satisfaction of being our big helper.

Jessa's followers seemed to love how she makes it a point to get her toddlers in on the action. One fellow parent commented, "What a cute little helper! My kids loved doing that as well at that age...now not so much so enjoy that while you can!"

Another Instagram user wrote, "My kiddos all loved to help clean out the lint trap, and would argue over who was allowed to empty the lint trap. Thus, 'special days' was born. Whose ever special day it was, was allowed the privilege of emptying the lint trap and getting the mail."

This isn't the first time Jessa has shared a nugget of parenting wisdom that included getting little ones involved around the house. In July, the busy mama shared a video clip of Spurgeon vacuuming, Cheat Sheet reported. "There’s a window of time in the toddler years where little ones become eager to help," Jessa wrote at the time. "It’s so sweet to watch their excitement as they are allowed to take part in meaningful tasks — not pretend 'helping,' but really doing something that helps out the whole family ... There’s a sense of importance and belonging and being needed." She continued:

Sometimes as a mom I have to pause and remember this. Yes, it may take 5x longer than if I did it myself, but they find it exciting to help out and lend a hand. We definitely need to encourage this and not squelch the excitement.

In theory, I admire how Jessa let's her kids help out with household chores. In practice, though, I'm seriously slacking in this department. The problem? I'm a perfectionist — so the thought of my children aiding in certain tasks makes me cringe. I'd rather just get it done and move on than take the extra time to correct how they cleaned something. But perhaps I should re-think my approach, at least on some chores. Thanks, Jessa, for the parenting pep talk I didn't know I needed!