Clean dishes
Wash up properly is an instruction without a measure. Is the plate clean when the grease is gone, when it feels smooth or when it looks shiny against the light? The pictures below set a visible standard, so the task can end instead of running until someone says stop.
Clean plates with a sponge
A stack of clean white plates with a bowl on top, a water drop, a dish rack and a yellow sponge with bubbles.
About this visual support
Tasks without a measurable ending are harder than they look. Washing up is not only about making the right movement, but about judging when the movement is finished, and that judgement rests on experience a child does not have yet. The result is either half-clean crockery or a plate scrubbed for five minutes just to be safe.
Visual support sets a standard to compare against. A picture of a finished plate lets the child hold their own next to it and see whether it looks the same. That removes both the guessing and the need to ask an adult after every step, which is often what makes the task feel heavy.
One tip is to let the last picture show where the clean plate goes, on the rack rather than back in the sink. Giving the task a physical end point makes it genuinely finished. In Routined the washing-up can sit as a step after dinner with a clear tick-off, and the app can be tried for fourteen days at no cost.
Use this image in a schedule
Build your own visual schedule with this image and download it as a print-ready PDF. Completely free.
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Take the visual supports with you
In Routined you build schedules from these pictures, add timers and voice instructions, and your child follows the day on their own.
* 14-day free trial included for new users.