Jobs for 8 year old?

[Weewhale]

What jobs round the house do your 8/9 year olds do? I've been a SAHM for a lot of my 8 year old's childhood and he was an only child up til fairly recently along with being on the spectrum, and I think I probably baby him too much. I'm sure when I was his age I did more round the house/for myself - do yours make their own breakfast for instance? Empty or help load the dishwasher etc? What else do they do? I want to start getting him to do more jobs to contribute to family life. He tidies his own room (in theory anyway) and clears his own plate from the table after meals but I'm struggling to think of much else he does.

Washing up/ drying/ dishwasher, dust/ polish, hoover (if your hoover is light enough), sort and put away laundry, lay/ clear the table - basically most things that don't involve bleach, heat or harsh chemicals are OK for kids that age to do.

At 8 he should be able to:

load/empty the dishwasher (for everyone)
lay the table
prepare simple lunch/breakfast (cereal/toast/sandwich)
Put clothes away
put own clothes in laundry basket
hoover
dusting
help clean the car
clean out/feed any pets
prepare any PE kit/equipment he needs for activities the next day

Keep his room tidy. Try to make his bed, you’ll probably have to help with this at first. Put his dirty washing in the basket. Help lay the table. My dgs is the ‘recycling boy’ in my house.
Supervised easy meals.

He does feed the cats actually

His gross motor skills are not great- struggles with shoelaces and even things like spreading butter on toast he finds difficult.

Thanks this is helpful!

He puts his own clothes in the laundry basket as well, he's always done that.

Thinking of getting him to strip his bed once a week as well.

I dont think he'd be able to fully empty the dishwasher as a lot of the stuff needs to be put away in cupboards too high to reach

Mine helps me with stuff - if I am honest he isn’t a huge amount of help, but it’s the principle.

So, puts clean clothes away with me, helps dusting and sweeping the floors under supervision, puts stuff in the dishwasher. Helps out in the garden with raking up leaves etc. They are going to need fairly close watching at that age unless you are happy for them to make a shit job of it.

My 8yo will peel/chop Carrots when I'm cookingdinner (under supervision), and can make a peanuts butter sandwich by himself. In theory he tidies away his toys, but I seldom see it. He'll also put a pile of folded cloths away in his cupboards/draws. In the summer he'll water the plants in the garden, but generally ends up soaking either himself or his sister in the process.

Lay the table and clear the table. Not unload the dishwasher as some of the shelves are too high.

Make himself breakfast. Keep his firstly washing in a basket and bring it down when requested.

I always have a little giggle at the amount some 8 year olds on Mumsnet are doing, I try to get my DC to pitch in but some of these lists are unrealistic for us. At 8 my boys would be...

Making own breakfast (but not everyday).
Clearing dining table & taking own plates to kitchen.
Laying laundry away, especially underwear and pjs. They might need help with anything on hangers.
Keeping their own rooms tidy (but not dusting and hoovering!)
Putting dirty clothes on the correct laundry basket (dark/light).
Packing and unpacking school bags.
Helping with making packed lunch (but actually this fell away and I mostly do it, although he is capable).

Sweep leaves
Take compost out to bottom of garden
water garden in summer or indoor plants now
Take dirty bedding off and put next to machine or in basket and get new bedding out. Even if he needs help remaking bed
Dirty towels gathered into basket or next to machine and new ones put out
Cleaning kitchen worktops and table with eco multipurpose spray

My 8 year old:

• lays the table
• sorts breakfast for herself
• puts her clothes away (I fold them)
• with prompting will tidy room (not amazingly but doesn’t matter)
• with prompts/reminders sorts her kits out

other than that if I need help around the house I will ask her to help with what I’m doing eg yesterday I was folding everyone’s clothes she was taking them up to bedrooms, she helped me take recycling out, she will wipe the table when I ask. She also feeds and holds the baby sometimes if I need to do something

what I’m trying to do more is involve her more in making her school lunch and improve her knife skills, also for her to consistently remember to clear her school bag out and refill water bottle (she struggles with screwing the top on)

every child is different and at this age it’s all about learning and letting them have a go, honestly it stresses me out sometimes as it takes longer to teach how to do something eg make sandwich when I could just do it far quicker but it needs to be done

also cooking! Can start cooking with them even simple things like fetchin ingredients from fridge can be done

Don't worry, my neurotypical ds was 11-12 before fully able to do the dishwasher!

DD (9yrs) makes her bed, tidies her room, dusts and hoovers. She has cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, but I'd rather do it myself (I love cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms😁)

She's also able to make her own breakfast and lunch, and she helps with dinner. We taught her how to use a knife safely from reception age, so she's really quite helpful in the kitchen.

We've always let her help with housework, so she graduated from helping to load the washing machine to being able to sort out a wash.

And!!! She makes a beautiful cup of tea. Hooray!!

Same with the packed lunches, far too often it’ll get too late or even worse it’ll need to be made in the morning and it’s far quicker for everyone if I just make it…

He could help you though - he gets it out and passes things to you to put away. Team work!

Dusting. DC (5)'s job is to get a thick moppet sponge and wipe all the skirting boards (rinsing them in the sink when it has too must dust)

He can do things with you. Together he will learn how to do things and make the load lighter for you. Kids always seem to like things like sweeping or using a vacuum cleaner. You can fold the laundry together and so on. Setting the table, clearing the plates, you wash the pots I dry sort of thing.

Hey I need this job I'm 8 years old
@Sprogonthetyne