do your kids do chores?

[anomaly13]

when did you start? did you give rewards? what? what kind of chores? how did you go about it, with a "chore board" or you tell them or they pick? did it work?

[Smidge]

We started religiously about 1 yr ago with dd and 4mo ago with ds. We do stickers every now and again, but usually it's just a high five, a compliment and a hug

My 34mo old dd:
Picks up her toys and puts them away where they go
Puts her shoes and clothing where they go when she's done wearing them
Folds her own pants and hangs her shirts up
Puts her dishes in the sink when dirty
Will sort and stack wipes when we do little brothers diaper laundry
Gets diapers and clothing for him if I change him in another room (with out asking)
Loves to clean windows

My 18mo old ds:
Picks up his toys and puts them away
Picks up things he drops when asked (sometimes this takes 2-3 reminders)
Puts his dirty dishes in the sink after meals
Loves to sweep

[Attached2Elijah]

I guess I'm mean... My kids ALL do chores and they don't get rewards. They get a thank you or a good job because taking care of the home is part of being a family and should not be just one member's responsibility (although it is mostly mine since I'm a SAHM but everyone is expected to help) I start my kids out really young... like not long after they're walking they are expected to clean up after themselves and we make game time of doing/sorting laundry and other chores until it becomes a regular thing with them.

My step-kids don't have "regular" chores but when they are here, I ask them to do a few things like vacuum, dishes, dust, etc.

My 7 year old's regular chores are:

Collect Laundry and take to laundry room once a week
Take Laundry Baskets back upstairs after folded (I have bad knees so carrying them up the stairs is hard for me)
Put away his own laundry
Clearing the Table after dinner every night
Straighten living room before bed every night

My 4 year old:
Helps sort laundry
Dusts and cleans glass weekly
Puts away her own laundry
Straightens living room before bed w/ brother every night
Mops the entry way (it's about 4x4 feet, she loves it, lol)

[missnoodlesmom]

Well, no one does "Chores" in the conventional sense, but I do have them help with the care of their own things.
4 y/o: scrapes her plate into the trash can and puts it in the sink
cleans up (with assistance) her own room before bedtime
puts away her shoes when she takes them off
puts away her clothing (minus hanging things in her closet)
hangs up towels in the bathroom when she's done with them

2 y/o: scrapes his plate (with assistance) and puts it in the sink
cleans up (with assistance) his own room before bedtime
puts away his shoes when reminded
puts away some of his clothing with help

I don't stress "chores" because I don't want them to be turned off of taking care of their own things, which I think is an incredibly important skill and process to learn. I help with everything but they are def. starting to take ownership and are happy and proud of that fact.

[Holiztic]

Yeah, not "chores" here either, but just daily living.

DS is 3.5, his 'chores' AND self-care include:

Makes his bed each morning
Brushes his teeth in morning (we do night)
Dresses himself
Sets the table for all meals
Clears his own place after meal and pushes in chair
Puts away his shoes when we come home
Puts his dirty laundry in basket after undressing

Also "helps" (usually more like hangs out with my while I do, but sometimes really does help):

Cook
Clean
Do laundry
Take out/in trash & recycling bins

Despite all the above, I am not great at having him clean up his toys. He's a really tidy kid, so its never a "mess" but I'll often just put the random toy back on the shelf when he's off doing something else. I need to work on that.

[nola79]

Yes, we do chores here. No rewards, but a thank you, or a good job, like a pp.
7 year old ds's regular chores:
loading/unloading dishwasher
taking trash out nightly, and bringing can to street twice a week
putting his clothes in the laundry after bath

He will sometimes help with laundry if I ask. He will also help DH with yardwork if asked.

[One_Girl]

We don't do chores but my dd is reasponsible for her things. She cleans her room everynight, brings her things to the laundry room when they are dirty, rinses her dishes and puts them in the dishwasher, and puts her laundry away (though I do the folding). When she was younger I used to clean with her and I have slowly phased out of that and phased more responsibility in as she has gotten older. She is now starting to take responsibility for wiping the table down after we eat and for some sweeping from time to time. I don't pay her or reward her for doing any of these things, she gets allowance but that is totally unrelated to chores. We do sometimes talk about how nice it feels once it is clean, but I don't praise or scold for chores. I want my dd to feel like keeping things nice is a relaxing and normal part of life, which is the complete opposite of how I felt about chores after being scolded, nagged, and praised into doing them.

[cappuccinosmom]

You betcha, they do chores.

We have no list, schedule, or allowance. Their chores are not difficult or time consuming.

Basically, it's on a "when asked" basis. Some things are daily, others every once in a while.

Daily:
Make bed
tidy up toys and other messes they make
Help with table set up and clean up

Occasional:
leaf raking and snow shoveling
cleaning activities like dusting, mopping, and vacuuming
(weekly) help me with laundry
carrying in groceries
(weekly) helping put trash out on trash night

ETA: When they are older, I will set up a meal planning and cooking rota for them. But they all are thrilled at the idea, so that'll be more of a privelage than a chore.

[mom2happy]

We have a "when asked" chore deal here too.
I am not organized enough to have chore lists and there is always something that gets in the way of a another schedule in an already busy day.
I will ask one to go down and get the laundry out of the dryer for me.
They bring me what ever I need when Im nursing, clean their rooms, clean the bathroom sink area with a cloth and essential oil cleaner, clean the sliding glass doors. The 5 yr old will vacuum the stairs with the hand vac (7 year old thinks it is going to suck out her eyes)
Basically they do what I tell them has to be done, but I have to stay on top of it or they get lost in their own plans. I never ask them to do a chore unless I have the ability to make sure they follow through.

[crowcaw]

No set chores. 5 yo dds and I help each other when asked.

[philomom]

I trained my kids early to come running when I yell "job" or "all hands on deck". They may get a thank you for helping out but chores are not tied to allowance. Everyone who lives in house contributes to its care.

[meemee]

neither do we 'do chores' in that sense. but we all contribute to keep the place the way we want it.

however our doing things started at 1 when dd took it upon herself to throw the dirty diaper HERSELF instead of me do it. then only she wanted to change the toilet paper rolls which she longer insists on.

dd has never 'had to' do anything. sometimes she doesnt feel like it so i dont make her do it. somedays i dont feel like it and she takes over. its a give and take. like right now i want to stay in bed so she is making us breakfast.

we have never had a chores list or the idea that they need to be given a reward.

its more about helping each other out. like if dd is in the kitched chatting with me while i empty out teh dishwasher its common she'll reach out when i have a cup in my hand to put it away.

however she has been super miss independence and always enjoyed doing adult tasks.

[becoming]

Nah, no set chores. They clean their rooms when asked (usually daily), and they know to put their dirty clothes away when they change/take a bath.

[velochic]

We don't have a chore board (I don't have one for myself, either), but dd (almost 9) helps me with whatever I need to do. For the most part, though, I do actual house cleaning when she's at school. Otherwise, we're all fairly tidy and look after our own things. She does help with daily chores such as dishes, putting dirty clothes in the hamper, wiping down surfaces (we clean with vinegar) and picking up/putting away items left out. In the winter time she also helps to bring up wood for the stove, and at other times helps with bigger tasks such as soapmaking, canning, cleaning up the yard, washing windows, etc.

[Shannie77]

My DD is 3.5 and we don't have chores but I encourage her to be responsible for certain things. That said if I sense it is going to be a struggle I don't worry about it. Sometimes she needs some encouraging but if she is tired and grumpy it just isn't worth it.

Her responsibilities:
*Hang coat and shoes up neatly (she has her own coat hooks by the door)
*Clean up toys she has played with (with help if it is a lot)
*Get herself dressed most days and put her own shoes on
*Help carry things to and from the car
*Help me with explosive poopy diapers (She is great at this!)
*Clean any spills, messes etc. she has made
*Turn on her nightlight and turn off the big light when we are done reading


Ones I would like to add:
Help folding laundry
Make her bed
Put dishes on counter when done

My mom is borderline OCD I think in terms of cleanliness, so growing up she actually didn't request a lot of us at all when we were little because we could never do anything up to her standards. Once I was about 10 she started letting me dry dishes (but not wash), or clean bathrooms, vacuum. I ended up being a really neat, organized person. And my sisters and I were all really good about helping her out once we got older. While I think it is important to teach kids responsibility, I also think if it doesn't happen from such a young age it can still all work out, and you shouldn't beat yourself up.

[Llyra]

My kids do help with household work. We don't call it chores, though. We don't reward, or have special charts, or anything. It's just part of life for us-- we all live here, so we all work to keep our home neat and clean and welcoming. They do get honest thanks and appreciation. I say things like, "Wow, it's so much nicer making breakfast when I have so many helpers," or "DD1, your drawer look very neat and organized. It looks like you worked hard on that." Stuff like that. But no material rewards.

When they were babies and toddlers, we would do things like clap and say hooray and make a little fuss, when they "helped," but I don't do that for kids past around 3 1/2, for ordinary everyday things they should be doing anyway.

I didn't do as good a job with DD1 as I should have-- I waited too long to give her responsibilities, and did too much FOR her, and around three and four I ran into a lot of resistance and entitlement. I remember her telling me, "That's YOUR job. I dont' want to do YOUR work." So with the next two, I started giving them small responsibilities from the time they first learned to sit up and crawl. That way it was an expectation that evolved naturally, as they grew.

Even babies, once they can grasp and release objects, can be carried to a laundry hamper and invited to drop their own clothing into it.

[Drummer's Wife]

They don't have set chores that they have to do, but they each help out quite a bit (most of the time). They do things such as taking the trash and recycling out, vacuuming, mopping (they love the steam mop - so they all beg to do it), my older two will do dishes - mainly unloading the dishwasher, b/c otherwise I have to re-load it, wipe down doors, walls, baseboards, and so on. Just pretty much whatever they are capable of doing. So, I'd never ask the 3 yo to clean the toilet. He'd probably love it, but it would be a disaster. They also do things that aren't really considered chores IMO, like cleaning their own rooms, picking up toys, and hanging up laundry.

They get allowance for how old they are, so: $3, $5, $7, and $9. If I'm feeling generous and like they helped out extra, I'll give them a little more. It's not really tied to chores, persay, but if were to not even have their room clean and not do anything around the house when asked, I will tell them maybe they'll earn it next week. I want them to be contributing members of the family and help our house function, and I also want them to have money of their own - so, I guess they do go together in a sense, and I've told them your daddy has to work all week in order to get a check on payday, so they get that I'm not just handing out money every week.

[limabean]

My 5-year-old clears his dishes from the table, feeds his hamster, makes his bed, helps clean up toys, and puts away the silverware from the dishwasher. He also helps when needed with other things, but those are the jobs that are considered his alone.

My 2.5-year old is starting to clear her dishes from the table sometimes, and she helps clean up toys.

We don't do rewards -- we expect all family members to care for the home.

[MJB]

My kids both:
-put their dirty clothes in the laundry
-pick up their toys
-put their dirty dishes in the dishwasher
-feed the cats and fish

My 7.5 yr. old:
-unloads the dishwasher
-takes the compost out
-brings clean laundry up from the dryer
-cleans the toilet

He gets an allowance of $3 a week if he does all of his chores.

[mooshersmama]

So glad I came across this thread! I'm taking notes...