Chores

I have 8 and a half year old girls that I have help me with dishes-washing and putting away after dinner, washing the table, sweeping the floor, they give the pets fresh water and food. They put their clean clothes away in their drawers, they tidy their room and vacuum their carpet, they have just started changing their own linens. They also take out the garbage and recycling and make their own lunchs for school.

My son who is 5 and a half empties the garbage cans into the can once a week, puts away his laundry, tidies his room, and helps pick up his little sisters toys at night.

My two year old helps with laundry she loves to load the dryer, she also helps vacuum with the hose and picks up her toys.

My older kids get $5 , my son gets $2 a week unless they haven't done their chore and then we sit and talk about what they feel is fair.

I also teach my kids about each thing I do like how to repot plants and spot clean carpets I think it is so important to teach them life skills and responsibilty.

My kids are just expected to help out when I ask them. We have clean up time every evening, where they put away any toys/books/puzzles that they got out during the day. (There are some exceptions like the train tracks that are sitting at my feet in a really cool configuration that DH helped them do, but even that will eventually get picked up.) I will ask them throughout the day to clean their places at the table, help put away clean dishes, put away their clean clothes after I fold them, clean up when I want to vaccum, etc. We generally expect them to pick up clothes they carry around the house (my kiddos are nudists to the core and will get dressed and undressed several times during the day) and make sure that their things are out of the public areas. We really try and make it not *chores* but make it something that you do because you live in the house. They don't get any allowance yet (and I don't really feel that allowance should be used to *pay* them for work they do around the house anyway), I don't get paid for all the work I do around the house, why should they?!?

My 6yo and 4 1/2yo do alot by some people's standards. I break things up by morning, afternoon and evening responsibilities, although I don't assign chores. It's just expected that people will help out and for the popular things I do rotate them so there is less fighting. Here's what they do :

morning
get dressed
take care of their laundry
make their bed
take their breakfast dishes to the sink and rinse them
wash the table and chairs
wash breakfast dishes
feed/water the cats
feed/water the rabbit
feed/water the birds
laundry

Afternoon
pick up the downstairs (mostly toys that were not picked up when they were done)
prepare lunch
wash the table and chairs
dishes
laundry
sweep the floors
take out the trash
vacuum upstairs
vacuum the furniture downstairs

Evening
prepare dinner
clean up from dinner
wash table and chairs
pick up their bedrooms
dishes
sweep the floors
pick up the downstairs

They also help with more indepth cleaning. There is more, I just can't think of it now. They don't do all of that everyday though. Sometimes they team up and do a job together, sometimes they do it with me (like the dishes we usually do together) sometimes they do it on their own. We basically have a clean up time and everyone works together.

My ds does get allowence. He gets $.29 a week. I decided to discuss how much with him and that's what he thought was fair. He'll get it if he doesn't do anything and he'll get it if he single handedly keeps the house for the entire week.

I agree that they should help because they're part of the household and not because I pay them. I hope that this is setting good lifelong habits

Thanks for the replies thus far.

I am also of the mindset that household work/general life situations don't require a monetary award. We haven't started allowances yet (I would like to but dh isn't on board yet) and when we do the allowance will be seperate from what housework has been done. However when something needs to be replaced I will have them use thier money for that...when the time comes.

I originally posted about chores because I am not as successful as some of you mammas in engaging dc in helping out. I generally try to include them in things but often their reply is "Moooooommmmmmmmm, lets play, play with me mom, no I dont want to _______, lets plaaaaayyyyyyyy." Thats for occasional things. Things such as laundry we are hit and miss with, preparing meals they dont seem interested in, they are pretty good about putting thier laundry in the hamper, picking up toys around the house and in thier play areas are always a battle though.

In seeing what some of you have your dc do I think that if I stay consistent we could implement much of it...dishes to the sink, wiping down the table. Again consistency seems like the key here.

My 6 y/o is expected to make her bed each morning but honestly it is so hectic in the morning that many times a week it doesnt get done. I wont make it for her in the hopes that she realizes she needs to do it but apparently jumping into a messy bed night after night doesnt phase her. OUr mornings arent hectic due to sleeping in, they wake up at 7:00 and we dont have to leave till 8:40 but they dilly dally so much, being silly they dont get anything done quickly like washing up and dressing.

Anyways I dont think I am too far from where many of you are at, need to work on consistency (perhaps some role modelling as well!)

K.

At our house, my husband and I try to encourage the ideas of picking up after oneself out of respect for others and working together on the big stuff. We work as a team to clean up rooms, do dishes, take out the trash etc. There are no set chores really. We clean as we go and help one another as much as possible, and often when things get boring we try to make a game out of it.

Our family has what we call "the star chart", which is a decorated poster board hanging on the wall. We give star stickers out whenever our DS does something really kind and helpful, and after he gets 10 stars we get him some sort of reward. It helps DS with counting, and shows him that when you do good things for others, good things can happen to you. Works very nicely for us overall.