Do your kids have chores?

[coffeelady3]

My 4 year-old's job is to feed the dogs. I figure she can handle filling up a cup with dog food and pouring it into the bowels. At least, most of the time she can handle it!

 

[BowChickaBowMow]

Quote:
If you get kid size cleaning tools, smaller kids can do alot of things, and love to! We have brooms, and have even cut down the handle on an adult broom to make it kid size (if you can't find kid size ones) and a small hand sweeper w/ the small dust pan are a must in our house. We have two for floors.. and one for tables/counters (to get food crumbs off)

Kid size rakes and shovels. For outside jobs.

a window squeegee works great (for as high as they can reach) on windows and mirrors. We don't let the little ones use glass cleaner... though a homemade version would be fine. We just let them use a water bottle w/ water they can mist onto the glass. Fun and entertaining.. great for motor skills!

what else? There are tons of chores that little ones can do. As long as nothing involved can hurt them (chemicals etc)

Our little ones like to vacuum w/ the hand held nozzle... around the walls of the room, and under couch cushions (those places that I don't like to do)

Make chores fun... don't make them out to be a bad thing b/c they're called a "chore" doesn't mean it has to be. It's just part of life, part of a family... it shouldn't be one person's responsibility to do all the work in a family. Kids need to learn that young... so they don't grow up and have a family of their own and expect to be taken care of (my ex husband)

Make a fun chore chart! (we've gone through many different styles) Now we have one w/ velcro moveable pieces. The kids get excited about these. They like to help make them/decorate them also. My 6yo daughter, this morning, woke up and went skipping to the chore chart.... "mommy what's my jobs for the day?'' and she was happy about it! (12 yo is a different story... he's a grouch in the morning)

 

[arlee453]

Quote:
Um.... I think you mean BOWLS. I think the dog handles pouring it into his BOWELS just fine all by itself!

I'm not picking on ya- just thought this was the most hilarious typo I've seen in a while! thanks for the giggle!

 

[arlee453]

Dang - $10 an hour!!!???!!!

That's more than Walmart workers make.

I have a friend trying to support his family on $12.50/hr doing phone support and sales for a cable company.

Anyone who is paying a kid $10/hr to do regular type chores around the house has more money than sense...and THEN some.

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
Um.... I think you mean BOWLS. I think the dog handles pouring it into his BOWELS just fine all by itself!

I'm not picking on ya- just thought this was the most hilarious typo I've seen in a while! thanks for the giggle!

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

Unofficially yeah. She helps feed and take care of the animals(cats, dog,rabbits, chickens) Helps bring in and put away the groceries. Does the dishes on occasion. Puts away her clothes. Then takes them out and puts together outfits all over the house.

It looks like we live in a kids clothing store some days. Hangers with complete outfits hanging on every door knob and rack.

Since she is 5 and none of her friends get allowances yet. I am not mentioning it to her for another 6 months or so.
I figure once she starts KG and makes new friends that DO get an allowance THEN I am going to give her a bi weekly amount as well for chores done, done well and without complaint.

Of course.. if she is as smart as I think she is she is going to figure out what I owe her in back pay as well.

 

[playswithfowl]

I have chores every week day. Doing dishes, laundry, etc. I don't get paid for each chore. I get an allowance of ten dollars every two weeks. Five of it goes into my savings account and five of it is to keep. It seems to work good for our family.

Playswithfowl

 

[2 Beauts]

We have 2 girls, 6 & 9. They clean their rooms, the play room, put away their laundry, gather the dirty laundry, and set the table. The little one does the place mats, the older one does the plates. Everyone clears their own dishes. The older one now has the additional responsibility of putting away the dishes as well. They do not receive any allowance nor will they.

If you want an allowance, from me, I in turn will need to charge you for my services, such as cooking. Supply and demand in action. My "costs" have increased, there for, my "prices" must increase. Choose wisely, Grasshopper. : )

I have 3 mantra's that they know by heart.

1) I can do one thing at a time, wait your turn.

2) I am the mommy, not the maid.

3) If you don't care enough to try and help yourself, why should I?
( try and tie your shoes, try and find your own________, try and sound the word out)


When they get a bit older, we will have the "job jar". Basically a list of jobs that need to be done around the house, but something that is not a pressing issue. Each of these will have a specific dollar amount attached to it.

Edited to correct a grammar error.......I can't believe I typed "no" instead of "know".

 

[Bren1222]

Quote:
The choice would be totally yours . Just because other parents do differently does not mean that your choices of how to raise your children are wrong .


I am wondering about this 1 1/2 acrea of property that SHE has to mow every week . Seem like alot for a 10 year old to do .
I might be paying her for mowing that OR hiring an older person to do it .

I don't think it is too much to ask of her. We have a rider. It is complete flat ground and nothing she has to go around. She just goes in circles for an hour or so. I mow the rest of the 6 acres and DH does the ditches along the road. The biggest thing is my DH is gone Mon-Fri. (that is why I am not on here much on weekends. It is family time) It is just the kids and I and I also work part-time. I am always outside keeping an eye on her and I can get the chicken coop cleaned out, chores done, or even use the weed whacker. It isn't like I am sitting in my lawn chair just watching her.

I am going to let her read this whole thing and then see what she says. I am pretty sure she will decided she has it pretty darn good around here.

I could always add more to her duties.

I don't think I will do a list and make her mark it off. I have to trust her at some point and take responsibilty. I love the responses and I feel much better about my decision on not paying her. Any money she gets from her veggies etc half goes in her savings account and the other half she gets to do with as she wishes (within reason) She is learning something there.

Oh the joys of children. They are my world but they sure can be trying.

 

[WriterofWords]

Steven here, my mom had me read this and told me to respond to it,, if I wanted to. I do!
She gives me an allowance, 25 out of each of her paychecks, so that is two times a month. I feed in the evenings, I do land mine duty (doggy doo), keep my room and laundry up, and keep my stuff out of the living room and kitchen, you know my shoes, socks stuff like that. I help with what I can and then there are things I can do to earn extra money like go to the dump, or chop weeds and mow and stuff over and above the normal weeds and mowing like now after a heavy rain.
I have buddies who don't do chores and get money, they think I have it tough, I think I am loved. It is my mom and me, and has been for a long time, if she gave me everything I would be like them and I don't think that would be good.
Responsibilities teach you to be responsible, if she didn't love me she wouldn't care. I'm 16 now and she trusts me to drive her truck and run errans and not screw up. She taught me that.