A single mum has revealed how getting her 4-year-old daughter to give her a hand with household chores has helped them both adjust to their new life.

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Laura Lifshitz, an American writer and comedian, divorced her husband and moved out of the marital home with her young daughter 6 months ago.

And now, she says, getting her daughter to help mum put away the washing or dry the dishes has "helped her feel as if the new place is really 'her home' and our home."

"It's helped her bond with me as well as we venture down the road of this life called divorce," she wrote for PopSugar.

So what does her 4-year-old's list of chores involve?

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Laura says: "On the list her chores are:

  • Bring in the mail
  • Clean & set plate (CLUE: we imagine this means clean and set the table!)
  • Put away shoes when you get home
  • Put dirty laundry in hamper
  • Help mom fold laundry
  • Help put laundry away
  • Swiffer play area
  • Wipe down bathroom sink with mom's help
  • Dust with mom's help
  • Make bed

"There are no consequences if she DOESN'T do her chores, and many are ones in which she helps me rather than does the chore alone," Laura adds.

The mum-of-1 admits that sometimes it's easier just to do the job herself but that it gives her daughter a feeling of 'pride and accomplishment' to help and that more parents should get their kids to do little tasks around the house.

"Starting chores young without the allure of a reward is a great way to build your little one into a self-sufficient adult down the line," Laura says.

"I see a blossoming self-esteem, pride, and habit develop by doing these chores. Does she do them all each week? No. Does she do them all with a smile on her face each time? No. But the pride in her eyes upon completing a chore chart is enough for me to see that experts are right: chores are good for my child."

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