I think you may have misunderstood my answer, so I'll try again. If you're stopping at only 3 kids and not planning on a bigger family, it might be worth the battle for the "lesson" in taking responsiblity and putting away laundry.
If you're planning on more kids, though, take my word for it, the 8 and 5 year olds, as the oldest kids, are going to get plenty of experience in taking responsibility before they leave home. Big families mean that the older kids end up taking on lots of responsibility to keep things going.
The younger ones will seem a lot younger to you when they are 8 and 5.
Living with a lot of people in a house creates lots of collective housework, mainly laundry, meals and meal clean up. Bringing a cheerful attitude to the work is "catching" with younger ones. Making it a battle is also "catching."
8 and 5 year old kids from small families might need more prodding to participate in housework or they'll "never" get it. But I've never seen a house 'o plenty where that was necessary.
What was necessary was a flexible attitude from the grownups, a lot of humor when they're under 10 and a willingness to enjoy the people you live with more than "stuff."
My parents did it while building successful careers for themselves and caring for 6 kids and an ailing parent. They weren't saints by any stretch of the imagination, but they were willing to give us (6 kids born in an 8 year time frame) the time to grow up at our own paces.
When we did housework, it was together because we all had to work together to make anything *other* than housework possible. We all learned to cook, do laundry, vaccum, dust, put away, read, do math, sew, play basketball and baseball with and for each other. That way what's "develomentally appropriate" can remain very individual and as fluid as it truly is in young children.
Because of this kind of upbringing, I've never understood why cooking and cleaning are inherently "less than" any other form of coming together as a family. When my older sister comes to visit...to this day...she refers to herself as the "mad laundress" and washes and folds clothes. On the other hand, she never really liked cooking, so she mostly doesn't. She's an awesome dishwasher and kitchen cleaner.
My kids laugh and fold clothes with her while she does it...and they put them away together. I hope they store up cozy, happy memories from this that will help them be amazing aunts to each other's children when they get there.
If you're planning on more kids, though, take my word for it, the 8 and 5 year olds, as the oldest kids, are going to get plenty of experience in taking responsibility before they leave home. Big families mean that the older kids end up taking on lots of responsibility to keep things going.
The younger ones will seem a lot younger to you when they are 8 and 5.
Living with a lot of people in a house creates lots of collective housework, mainly laundry, meals and meal clean up. Bringing a cheerful attitude to the work is "catching" with younger ones. Making it a battle is also "catching."
8 and 5 year old kids from small families might need more prodding to participate in housework or they'll "never" get it. But I've never seen a house 'o plenty where that was necessary.
What was necessary was a flexible attitude from the grownups, a lot of humor when they're under 10 and a willingness to enjoy the people you live with more than "stuff."
My parents did it while building successful careers for themselves and caring for 6 kids and an ailing parent. They weren't saints by any stretch of the imagination, but they were willing to give us (6 kids born in an 8 year time frame) the time to grow up at our own paces.
When we did housework, it was together because we all had to work together to make anything *other* than housework possible. We all learned to cook, do laundry, vaccum, dust, put away, read, do math, sew, play basketball and baseball with and for each other. That way what's "develomentally appropriate" can remain very individual and as fluid as it truly is in young children.
Because of this kind of upbringing, I've never understood why cooking and cleaning are inherently "less than" any other form of coming together as a family. When my older sister comes to visit...to this day...she refers to herself as the "mad laundress" and washes and folds clothes. On the other hand, she never really liked cooking, so she mostly doesn't. She's an awesome dishwasher and kitchen cleaner.
My kids laugh and fold clothes with her while she does it...and they put them away together. I hope they store up cozy, happy memories from this that will help them be amazing aunts to each other's children when they get there.
