If you work full time, would you do your 17/18 year old's washing and ironing?

YANBU. She should be doing her fair share of household tasks, relative to the amount of free time each of you has.

I didn’t make my DD do much housework, because I worked part time from home whereas she had a long school bus journey and spent a lot of her time at home doing homework or other IMO more worthwhile things than chores. And she didn’t want much ironed, I might have balked at that!

Not to mention households that have a cleaner, so their DC go to school and come back to a clean house with no particular idea about what is involved in achieving that.

DD is frustrated that, of her uni flat of 8 students, there's only 3 of them that will routinely think to wipe up cooking spills after they happen (i.e. something that takes 30 seconds). Cleaning up after yourself is something she had drummed into her from an early age and she'll now do it without thinking.

I do my 17 years old washing but he irons his own clothes. I wouldn’t want half wash loads on several times a day so I just do all the washing.

when I was a teen I ironed my own school uniform from yr 7.

I still do all the washing and ironing for my two DC, as I’m doing it anyway. I am happy to do it for them as they are currently approaching GCSEs and A Levels and along with their part time jobs have less down time than I do. However, if I asked them to do either of those things then they would know how and do have other things they are responsible for.

I do mine x

We iron almost nothing in this house, but if dd16 wants something ironing for an occasion, I'll happily do it for her. However, she doesn't tend to (and if I had time I'd be showing her how to do it anyway).

She's been doing 95% of her own laundry since she was 12, as has dd1. It's not a hard and fast rule (we all happily stick a load on for someone else if it's urgent or if they're ultra busy). But in general, I work FT too, she has a Saturday job and college but she has a load more free time than I do. She cooks a lot too. I'm not her maid and she doesn't expect me to be apart from cleaning which she does fuck all of.

I do both hers and my eldest dd's (22) washing. I iron dd2's uniform once a week, but that's the only thing that gets ironed.

Always did the washing because a) economy and b) I don't mind doing it

All three ironed from the age of 13 or their dad did it if they asked nicely! (and he still does ours)

Washing from basket yes
Anyone who wants clothes ironed does it themselves

Same situation.
Household tasks are divided up between the three of us, roughly equally.

All washing gets combined to do full loads - separating coloured from whites. And my husband does all the ironing as it is easier to do it all at once rather than than separating it out by person.

Son does other tasks - dog walking, mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms etc…

Everyone one over 14 should take an active part in running the household. But not necessarily just doing their own bit - so if son is on floors he does all the floors not just his room.

I just don’t buy clothing that needs ironing unless for special occasions.

doing laundry is one of the easiest chores for a teenager to take on. It works nicely because they are the only one who suffers if it isn’t done. I would hand over the entire chore.

I stopped doing my DCs washing when I realised it was just going round in circles and not being worn, I'd put clean clothes on their bed, they'd move them to the floor and then when tidying up put them in the wash, that or they'd wear something for 5 minutes and it would then end up in the washing bin.

I also believe that preparing DC for adulthood is a good thing, both of mine left home at 18 for uni, knowing how to wash, iron, clean, shop/meal plan and cook.

It is a conversation that I was having with some friends recently. My DC are now in their 20s and when they were little they would come to the shops with me, just like I had with my mum when I was a child. One younger friend who had her DC later in life never takes them to the shops, she does a weekly online order and that is it, clothes etc comes online too and they are now late primary, early secondary and she still does it all, food is prepared at meal times and served up. Washing is done, clothes put away and each night she still puts out their clothes for the next day, packs their school bag and lunch.

Washing,yes, because how difficult is it to chuck it in with the everyone else's laundry? But ironing,no way! I hate ironing with a vengeance and do as little as possible,so no way would I be doing someone else's who is capable of doing their own!

I'll wash anything that ends up in the washing basket. Already split by colour, so it's literally pull out the contents and stick in machine.
Whoever is around when it's done hangs it out.

Mine are younger. I iron school and work shirts. That's it. So nothing for DS1 after June. He has just ironed some bits he wants doing tho. DS2 has nothing that would be ironed.

@bookworm8500 start by not ironing jeans! Or teeshirts if you are wearing them under a jumper (ie in winter). Then move to careful folding of teeshirts, and you'll find very few need ironing.

I didn't know people ironed jeans

I only iron school uniform. Also stopped ironing everything in Covid.

I work full time and do my 18yos washing. I generally don’t iron though will do him a shirt if he asks which isn’t often. I plan to teach him properly over the summer before he goes to uni. He puts his clothes in the wash basket, changes his own bed and puts his clean clothes away. He can put a wash on but hasn’t done it often. He will empty the dryer when asked.

I would do her washing if she sorted it first.

ditto towels but would not go looking for them

would not change or wash her bed linen

would not do her ironing.

No one irons in our house except dh though

Nothing is ever ironed in this house. But we all work out and run so there is a massive amount of laundry.

Of course I'd put my teens laundry in the machine. It would waste energy and money doing separate loads. I'm the Queen of sorting but my teens will put in machine, turn on and put on washing line when asked repeatedly and in capital letters by text.

When mine were about 11 they got a job each in the house and they had to empty the dishwasher twice a week each. At 15 they became responsible w their own laundry. And they cooked a night each. We had a younger child though so I wasn’t doing sleepless nights and all the housework.

People still iron 😂
I wash my teenage lads clothes , dry & fold for them , I do have an iron but it hardly ever needs to be used , I 💯 wouldn’t be ironing though if it did have to be done , & aside from anything, you said you feel resentful. .
Stop then OP 🤷🏻‍♀️ 🙂

Yes this. Surely you show teenagers how to do their washing.

The girlfriends of DS1 and DS2 are different sizes and I know what one would wear the other wouldn't.

I don't do it out of choice, sometimes a pair or a t shirt will end up in the wash and i've not noticed, if I do pick it up before it goes in the washer it goes back in their room.

It doesn't happen very often

I don't do it out of choice, sometimes a pair or a t shirt will end up in the wash and i've not noticed, if I do pick it up before it goes in the washer it goes back in their room