to ask you what jobs your children do around the house

[biddysmama]

spin off from my packed lunch thread, serious question tho, i was my mums (and brother and sister) carer when i was 10 so not sure whats normal

Dd (10) is expected to keep her room tidy & dust & hoover it once a week. She must also put her dirty washing in the laundry bin & put the clean washing in her drawers. She also empties the dishwasher if she's home when it needs emptied.

DS1 (7) - tidy the playroom & keep his room tidy. Put his clean washing away. Empty the dishwasher if dd not about.

Ds2 (5) - tidying the playroom & his room (they share). No other jobs for him.

They are all expected to put their dirty plates on the work surface above the dishwasher or in the dishwasher if there's space. Whether this happens without me nagging is debatable!

I'm a SAHM mum tho so have loads of time to do housework every morning so dont feel they need to do other house jobs.

Haven't seen the packed lunch thread, so I might be missing the point spectacularly!

DS13 - strips own bed, washes bed linen, remakes bed; keeps room tidy; dries dishes and puts away; weeding; dusts/polishes/vacuums own room; tidies out car; puts shopping away; puts clean clothes away.

DD just 6 - strips own bed, washes bed linen; keeps room tidy; tidies up toys generally; sets table for meals; dusts/polishes own room; puts clean clothes away.

The both do other ad hoc jobs as and when they arise. DS more so as he's older.

My 4yo DS thinks it's his job to make a mess.

Not much TBH

DS is 9 and I just expect him to keep his room tidy and basically clear up after himself.

If he wants pocket money he has a set of chores but to be honest, he hasnt done them for ages.

As long as he isnt messy and doesnt add to my load - which he doesnt) - I dont really expect him to do much.

Folk - how does a 6 year old wash her bed linen....doesnt all the linen get bunged in together?? I try and get all our bedding in the machine at the same time....maybe I am missing a trick.

Do those with children try and involve them in cooking when they're old enough? To give them a basic course in how to cook simple stuff?

Mine take it in turns to have a washing up day. sometimes I have to redo it
where they clear the table, load the dishwasher and wash up whatever they can't stuff in the dishwasher.

The older 3 change their beds and keep their rooms tidy. DS(10) does as little as possible, if he moans loud enough dd will do it for him!

My 2 year old son tries to do everything!

He's into sweeping, mopping, polishing and he likes putting his toys in the right place in his room.

Fanjo that'll wear off, believe me

I know but at the moment who am I to stop him doing what he enjoys

DS aged 21 months brings me the broom on request and he puts his cup and bowl on the side all by himself. (we didn't teach him, he just likes doing it)

Nothing formal iyswim.

But they are almsot 13 and am thinking of instigating proper responsibilities rather than the ad hoc arrangement we currently have.

DD (3 this month) puts her bedtime nappies in the bin, plates in the sink when finished, puts toys back into toy box when finished and dirty clothes into the wash basket. She does it mostly unprompted, for now

DS (9.5)
Keep his bedroom tidy
bring down his washing and put clean washing away
Put on take off clean bedsheets (with help, its one of those bloody loft beds)
Make packed lunch and empty lunchbox
lay and clear dinner table
help with rubbish and recycling on bin day
tidy up after himself

Gardening (for £1 an hour) is optional

he used to hoover, but nearly electrocuted himself, killed the hoover and tripped all of the upstairs plugs

Oh yes and he tidies away all his bricks and then throws them out again one by one to see where they land

As I said on the other thread, children are children for such a short time, I dont believe in making them responsible for household chores. By all means ensure that they are capable of doing things, but I certainly wouldnt demand that they do any more than keep their bedrooms tidy.

DS is 3.9 so not expected to do jobs as such but I get him involved with the following if he's around/bored/not doing other things.

Tidying up (general chucking stuff into boxes sort)
Throwing rubbish in the bin/recycling
Hanging up washing (he can manage socks )
Drying up when I wash up - everything except glasses and sharp knives.
General "wiping" kind of cleaning - windows, kitchen sides, door frames, skirting boards, bath and sink in bathroom - all with mild cleaner of course.

My 3yo dd likes to 'help' with the washing, loading and emptying the tumble dryer or hang it on the clothes rack, she quite likes tidying her toys away, and will 'help' with the dusting.

I don't make her do it but I'm hoping that by letting her do this, it will encourage her to do so in years to come when I expect it from her

Betty She strips the bed, bungs it in the machine, adds the liquid and turns it on. She's been doing it since she was about 3 and I capitalised on the washing machine fascination thing . She does have a cot bed bed though (still tiny), so it's not a normal sized single which I think might be a bit too big for her. She needed help with the detergent and the dial then but can do it quite well independently now. Although she does make a bit of a mess. But hey, you can't have it all!

I don't bung it all in together just so that I don't have 3 loads of bed linen to dry at the same time. Besides, DS's is dark blue and DD's pale pink. The one time I let them wash them together, the colour ran .

I remake her bed because she can't do that.

Nothing. I follow them around bowing and scraping and treating them as the kings and queens they are *

*Do cats count?

My 2.9 year old helps load the washing machine and likes to dust with me . I also get her to help tidy her toys away, put her own rubbish in the bin (obviously not food off plates, but crisp packets, stickers etc) and she puts her dirty clothes in the laundry basket.

My 3.5yo helps with cooking as much as she can but its because she loves it not because we make her! Have bought her some of those safe kids "snippers" so she can chop veg etc.

I do insist on tidy up time in the playroom and the garden and I make other kids do it too if we have them over to play/tea. They have to do it at nursery so it's normal for them. They even have a song!

I ask her to smooth the bed and put her dirty clothes in the laundry bin.

We do not have particular jobs, all make bed, keep room tidy but I do go and do it as well likewise washing up or gardening, or rubbish it depends who is closest within ear shot. We are a team and do things for each other whenever it is necessary. All mine can cook and bake. I have 13,12 10, 9 and if I broke both my legs the household would run smoothly. I think teaching team work is more important than instilling "jobs" they are not "jobs" just life.

If I ask them to do something they usually will - the easiest way to get my 5yr old to do anything is to ask one of the others to do it but they don't have specific jobs that they must do.
They can all put a load of washing in the machine and set it going, and empty the washing machine and load the dryer. They can all make themselves a drink and/or something simple to eat, and DD can make hot drinks.
They "tidy" their rooms, I don't go in there unless I must.
That's about it, but I don't do any housework very much either so it's not like they have a "good example" set for them.