How much help around the house do you expect from your kids?

I get flack from other moms about how much work my kids do around the house. My kids are 13, 10, and 6. My younger two unload the diswasher, and my oldest loads it. They vacuum, sweep, clean up messes, clean bathrooms, and my oldest is learning to do her own laundry. They don't do it all perfectly, but it's better than having it NOT done. Plus, with homeschooling they spend more time at home. They have time to make more messes, and also have to do more cleaning!!

I think it's QUITE reasonable to expect your kids to pitch in when they are old enough to do so.

So how much do your kids help at what ages?

 

Ems helps with everything. She is 14 and there is no reason she can't do her part. When she was younger, if she was old enough to reach it, remove it, carry it, and use it, she was expected to take part in cleaning it. Even if it was as simple as putting her plate on the counter.

 

The boys do simple things around the house like pick up their rooms, scrape the food off of their plates and put the plates in the sink. Patryk does simpler things that don't require much moving around (because of his CP) like putting silverware away from the dishwasher. Beau likes to vaccuum, and sweep so he gets to do that. Marion is 18 months old and is learning to pick up his toys, and find sippy cups.

IMO, picking up, cleaning, and so on is learning too. Kids ahve to learn that when they make messes they have to clean them, mommy wont to it for them. So this way when they move out on their own they wont live in a pig sty. They'll have learned to clean their messes, and to love how being clean feels.

 

All my kids (except the 2 youngest) have chore lists that are harder than the chores you listed for your kids! My 3yo has a list and it includes things like pick up the living room and vacuum it BUT on one of the older kids chore cards it tells them to help her clean and vacuum it. My kids learn to do their own laundry at 5yo. By 6yo they are fully responsible for their own stuff. I didn't say they always do their laundry....but the natural consequnece is having to wear dirty clothes. After a few days of dirty clothes they end up doing their laundry.

I think people are too easy on their kids and most kids need MORE chores than what parents give them. I grew up with a kid who's mom did EVERYTHING and wouldn't let her 4 boys do anything. She even cleaned their rooms. Fast forward 15 years....those boys have problems in their marriages because they don't know how to do anything! I say it's better to teach them something than nothing!

The chores you give your kids sound fine. Don't worry about what other people say!

 

My oldest (9yrs) is solely responsible for the entire kitchen (including table and floor) and the mowing. He gets $10 a week for doing it all. If I have to nag or if he gets in trouble, he loses money in $.50 increments.

That's his job and his paycheck.

Just about every other chore in the house that can be done (bathrooms, bedrooms, hallway, living room, laundry room, etc.) are divided evenly among the oldest three (9, 7, & 6). They are all responsible for sorting/folding/putting away their own clothing. SO my oldest still has to do normal chores on top of his 'for pay' chores. I refuse to give a kid money for nothing, or worse, for doing what they are supposed to do anyhow, so this is what DH and I came up with.

 

Somebody gave me this a long time ago. Not sure who. http://www.thsc.org/Images/pdfs/Rockett_LifeSkillsList.pdf We've always had our kids cleaning up after themselves. If they could walk, they could put a bottle or sippy in the sink. (Not tall enough to rinse it out, but at least it's not curdling milk under the couch, ya' know?) If they get a toy out, they put it away... even at 12 months old. Take clothes off? It's just as easy (and fun) to throw them at the basket than to drop them on the floor.

My 6 year old does a ton around the house... laundry, vacuum, dishes, etc. I was cooking full meals by the time I was 6. My mom never learned to cook, but my dad was the 3rd of 12 kids, so he was an excellent teacher. My younger gets away with a lot because my older is so efficient, but I try to include the younger as much as possible.

 

My kids are nearly the exact same ages...

They are to clean their bathroom every day (it's really a straighten and wiping down the sink, toilet, etc...I do the "full" clean once every two weeks...sometimes my oldest will do the full clean for money - that means she has to scrub the tub and floor.....my son does the "boy" parts on his days). They alternate, with Sunday's off.

They set and clear the table (works out to about twice a week each...although my oldest escapes this often due to her gym schedule).

They load & empty the dishwasher - alternating again....so basically they each do that twice a week.

They sweep the kitchen floor - once a week for each of them.

They're also responsible for keeping their rooms and the schoolroom clean (although, I tend to be lax on this one!).

Also, they sort their laundry, help me get it up and down the stairs, and then after it's been in the dryer, I sort into their laundry baskets and they have to fold and put away their own laundry. They also have to fold and put away towels and such.

I think that's it.

So....I think that sounds fair, and it's also what most of my friends expect from their kids, too....so I don't think we're that unusual.

 

Oh....forgot to add, my youngest adores dusting! so I let her do that to her hearts content. AND we just got a new Oreck vacuum, and my oldest says she can vacuum now b/c it's a lot lighter than a regular vacuum.

 

My 11 year old does laundry every day, my 9 year old cleans and tidies the living room every day. Additionally, they take rotating turns emptying and then filling the dishwasher and wiping the kitchen down, picking up and wiping down the bathroom and sweeping all of the floors in the house. My 4 year old feeds the animals, collects eggs from the chickens, puts shoes away that get left around. Also, on an as needed basis they do whatever asked- stack or carry in wood for the stove, vacuum, cook, bake, bathe animals, pick up debris from lawn, clean up after animals ect. They are very hard workers (not always by their own choosing but still.)

Oh and the kids all garden with me.

 

My 3 boys (8,7,4) do whatever they are physically able to do, so that means unloading dishwasher, scraping plates, setting/clearing table, and tidying up all the whole house. Vacuuming, sweeping, bringing in the clothes from the line, etc.
They don't do the laundry because I have a huge washer that I like to wait to fill all the way, but they certainly fold and put away their clothes.

They help in the kitchen, as long as it doesn't involve a knife or hot stove, and in the garden as well..weeding, digging, whatever.

At my MIL's house one day, I had sent them to fold up all the comforters upstairs, and she turned around and said "If they lived here, I would never have let you make them work".

Even today there are people who think somehow only the women are responsible for all the work. One of my goals in life is to ENSURE my children do NOT grow up to be like that!

 

My 9 and 11 yr olds clean up the kitchen every night, take out trash, vacuum, sweep, fold their own clothes,(11 yr old washes her own load),clean their own bathroom, and are usually pretty good about doing other stuff whenever I ask them to. They also are responsible fro their own breakfast and lunch. They don't get a regular allowence.The only thing I won't ask them to do is clean the litter box. Ds 9 works at dh's repair shop changing oil and spark plugs on lawn mowers, dd11 likes to clean Nana's house. These are the only jobs they get paid for. I do think kids these days are too coddled, and work ethic in this culture is pretty disappointing.

 

The probably do about 30 minutes worth of chores a day and additional chores for any whining during the day. We have zones or specific chores for each day of the week. My youngest doesn't do much yet. She does have to clean up the toy or toybox currently out if she wants something new out.

 

Haha, I assign extra chores for whining and disobedience too. Mostly it's weeding...enough weeds for everyone!

 

Once they are able to clean up after themselves, I see no reason why they shouldn't. It's not exactly good for them to grow up in the mind set of one waited on by servants - we've all seen how spoilt some kids can be. I'm their mother. It's not my job to be their maid, but to help them learn how to look after themselves. I don't know why people forget this so easily these days.

People who think it's "making kids work" always seem a bit out of touch. Yes, childhood should be fun. But if we set them up thinking that these normal everyday things are somehow bad, it's not exactly healthy. And I don't consider putting plates away for two minutes as "work".

My kids are 7 and 8. They clean up whatever they use (put away pencils, turn off piano keyboard, etc.), wash their dishes (we do it individually by hand) after each meal, take it in turns doing laundry, cook once a week, make their own breakfast most days, set the table, and help vacuum and sweep maybe once a week. They don't get pocket money for this, since they're already given free board and food and 15 minutes a day doesn't pay for that. Pocket money is an incentive for extra things, not to reward what should be normal

Since they were little, we've allocated 15 minutes each day to tidy up the house as well as these things. Every day, including weekends, they'll spend 15 min clearing cobwebs from the outside of the house or sweeping the steps or dusting or whatever needs doing. They don't hate it because it is normal, as it will be throughout their lives. Plus they have fun when something odd comes up that they can discover with me, like how to remove mould. We've always emphasized that the more boring ones are like trips to the doctor: not great fun but they still have to be done.

 

My oldest two are 7 and 9 and the things they are expected to do are: feeding and watering pets, keeping their bedroom and playroom clean, unloading the dishwasher, putting away their clothes, and keeping their bathroom clean. They are also expected to help with other odd jobs around the house when I ask.

My little one is 3 and he helps pick up the playroom, puts away some of his clothes (stuff in drawers), helps me clear the table, and help dust. He also tries to help with the vacuuming, and sweeping and mopping.

 

My girls do tons of chores during the week. They each have a day where they do the dishes. My oldest is responsible for her laundry and she will do her sisters with hers if her sister is nice and asks. my youngest does laundry if I tell her to... she also loves to dust.. so I let her... they clean the living room, kicten, hall and bathroom.
it sounds like a bunch but it not...

 

DH grew up with his mum and three sisters doing everything for him... then the poor guy married me and has to do his share. It's been a big struggle for him and caused a few teething problems in our marriage.

We're dealing with a few behaviour issues with Loralei but are slowly increasing her responsibilities. She has to get dressed, make her bed, fold her PJs and put them under her pillow, and take her dirty washing to the laundry BEFORE breakfast or screen time. Our kitchen and dinning area are one room so she has to eat and drink in there and put her plate/cup by the sink. She has to put away her folded wasing and tidy up her belongings each day.

Anaia likes to help tidy up toys, fold washing and put it away, bring in firewood, and put rubbish in the bin.

Maybe I should introduce extra chores for Loralei's mis-behaviours, my house and garden would be emmaculate and it might 'cure' her :lol: seriously though I'm gonna go create a chore jar right now.

 

Oh mine work their butts off

They help clean the house, they milk cows, feed goats, help butcher chickens, collect & wash eggs, even cook dinner.... yeah they work a lot. They get allowance based on their age for the chores and sometimes bonuses if we feel it's warranted.

They play a lot too! Plus, we have the opportunity for them to earn money at our store front selling things they make (they each make something - except the 5 year old).

I feel no guilt over how much my kids work. My husband and I do a lot of it as well - plus we have an employee so a lot of chores are just on his days off.

 

You know, reading this thread makes me wonder: Do home schooled children do more chores? It seems that way to me, as I cannot imagine a ps child having enough time to do all this when he comes home from school. After the mountain of homework is done, how much time does a child really have left?

I know my children do more now that they are home. They didn't have that much homework in school since they were in the lower grades, but I tended to let them "decompress" after school, which meant just sitting in the room with a book or toys, or playing outside if the weather was nice.
Between homework, play and dinner, there wasn't much time to do anything else. They still had to make their beds and clear the table, but not really much else except on weekends.

 

I'd wager that they do have more chores, but for a different reason. Since most chores are really just tidying or cleaning up after themselves, then as homeschooled children are at home more and do more at home, they have more to clean up. It's that simple. But it doesn't make a big difference, since these things don't exactly take any appreciable time or effort.

As for not having enough time... Every single last one of all the hundreds of students I've taught have all had time to play recreational computer games and watch TV. Most of them do it for a few hours a day. It's not true that they don't even have a spare 10 minutes in their entire days to unpack the dishwasher or whatever needs doing. Not even the Queen is that busy. Sure, they get a lot of homework. But their lives at home aren't purely "homework, eat, bathroom, sleep."