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Original poster

Is it realistic to expect your DC to do this much around the house ?

31 replies

tiredpom · 08/02/2018 08:03

Was trying to work out if my DSS is doing a fair amount around the house for the pocket money he gets. So did a bit of research and found this list ..... bloody hell ! My DH won't even do half of this ! Is this for real or is DSS getting an easy time of it !!

Is it realistic to expect your DC to do this much around the house ?
OP posts:
Tensecondrule · 08/02/2018 08:09

Sounds like kids should be sent up the chimney according to this 😂 Mine used to have to put away their own toys etc, but I have to be honest I didn't really have them doing housework. They would help with clearing away after meals, empty dishwasher when they were old enough not to break things, tidy their rooms etc. If they needed extra cash for things as teens they would do specific jobs to earn it, but nothing regimented. Maybe I was too soft on them!

Taytotots · 08/02/2018 08:13

Well I don't think any of those things are unreasonable for them to do in themselves but yes doing all of them/any with no supervision isn't going to happen at the younger end of spectrum. I'd say the idea is you pick a few they do rather than whole lot especially as some of them never get done in our house - vacuuming couches?!?

BluthsFrozenBananas · 08/02/2018 08:13

That chart looks like it was designed for those US right wing Christian quiverfull families who have millions of children.

Gazelda · 08/02/2018 08:15

My dd (9) could do all of this, but I wouldn't want her to. She has some chores, and I try to introduce new ones occasionally, but I prefer that she does her homework, enjoys after school activities and rests rather than have a list of jobs.

Nikephorus · 08/02/2018 08:17

Whatever happened to playing with your lego and learning to read?! It's one thing to encourage a bit of help when you're cleaning & make it a game but this sounds like giving your 2 y.o. a list as soon as they wake up.

LadyLoveYourWhat · 08/02/2018 08:21

I read this as a list of things that children of those ages could do, rather than expecting them to do all of the things all of the time. I expect our 12 & 14 year old to tidy up after themselves, unload the dishwasher, lay the table, get people's drinks for them at meals. This is not linked to pocket money, they should be doing this as part of the household. They get extra pocket money if they change their sheets, dust and hoover their rooms and empty their bins on a weekly basis. I'll probably try and get them doing more as they get older, but we're not great at housework generally!

Eltonjohnssyrup · 08/02/2018 08:25

It does seem a lot. But my MIL did similar to this with her sons, and they are brilliant now. All of them do more than their wives.

Llanali · 08/02/2018 08:26

Yes, to me this is a list of chores appropriate at each age. Not a daily list or whatever.

So at 4, it would be reasonable to have the child set the table. Or fold the tea towels. Not get home from pre school and race down the mines.

Upsidedownandinsideout · 08/02/2018 08:27

It depends if you are expecting your children to do all of this every day (and be in charge of it) Vs helping out. If my DC are home and I'm doing a job, we all come and help because I want them to know that we are a team (even if that means resweeping the floor at the end!), and they help most nights with getting the dinner ready and setting/clearing table.
My 6 year old hasn't wiped the sinks or bathroom because I use stronger chemicals, or the microwave because it's high up, but the rest seem pretty reasonable to me

LuchiMangsho · 08/02/2018 08:28

DS6 helps with laundry. Makes his bed. Sets the table. Clears the table. Helps me with his baby brother. Tidies up toys at the end of the day.

Why won’t your DH do these chores???!
Does he consider them beneath him?!

Sharpandshineyteeth · 08/02/2018 08:29

Trying to get a toddler to do those chores would be like herding cats 😂

FallenAngel89 · 08/02/2018 08:29

My kids probably do all of the 2-3 bracket and odd extras. My 7 year old knows how to work the washing machine and loves to do it. I'll make full use of that till she gets bored Grin

Theducksarenotmyfriends · 08/02/2018 08:30

Does that say swiffer the floor?? Even I don't swiffer the floor! (Wtf is swiffering??)

Quartz2208 · 08/02/2018 08:31

Yes it’s clearly saying at what age arious chores are appropriate to start not that they should be doing all of them

Believeitornot · 08/02/2018 08:32

This list isn’t that bad. It says age appropriate chores, not “everything that they should do”.

My school aged dcs do little bits and pieces but because I work, I’m not home enough to get them to do much. If I was home every day with them then we’d have a proper routine and they would be helping out.

thegreatbeyond · 08/02/2018 08:50

Well, you are all amateurs, clearly. My 16 month old has just finished wiping the 'base boards" and is getting to work digging the borders outside in a minute.

Batmanwearspants · 08/02/2018 08:53

It literally says at the bottom "You can pick the number of chores you feel are appropriate for your child"

I do think its a good list in terms of helping prepare children for independence

Frogletmamma · 08/02/2018 08:54

My DD makes me coffee. With coffee I am superwoman. Without coffee I am a dead slug

Blackteadrinker77 · 08/02/2018 08:54

It's just a list of age appropriate tasks not a daily to do list.

How much does your DSS do? How old is he?

viques · 08/02/2018 08:58

I'd love to see a bed made by a two year old.......

and why would you give a tiny child a nice job like swiffering the floors? I LIKE swiffering the floors, that , putting slate oil on the fire surround and cleaning the bathroom sink are the only household jobs I actually like, I am damned if I am going to give them up for some incompetent toddler to mess up...... no,if ever I have to house train a toddler they are going to do proper jobs, like cleaning between the banisters, wiping down the skirting boards underneath radiators and cleaning behind the bathroom sink. Real jobs for tough kids.

vampirethriller · 08/02/2018 09:06

We used to do lots around the house growing up. We didn't get pocket money though! We had to get jobs on top for that. You shouldn't need paying to look after your own home was my mother's way of looking at it.

Spam88 · 08/02/2018 09:08

A 2 year old emptying the dishwasher just seems ridiculous and potentially dangerous. I am quite amused by the suggestion of my 2 year old nephew on his hands and knees with s bucket of soapy water scrubbing the baseboards though. Although I suppose he might give it a go, for all of 10 seconds before he gets distracted by trying to crawl out the cat flap.

ShutYoFace · 08/02/2018 09:10

It's not a list that the should do all of, its just a list of age appropriate suggestions.

TheShaniaTwainExperience · 08/02/2018 09:11

My two year old cleans his toys up and he tries to sweep (think he’s copying us when we do it) and he can carry clothes to the washing machine (again he’s mostly copying us I think)

He couldn’t reach surfaces let alone clean them, and I can’t imagine trusting him to take things out of a dishwasher with those butter fingers 🤣

Sounds intense

StickThatInYourPipe · 08/02/2018 09:13

That’s just a list of age appropriate chores to pick from! It isn’t saying children should be doing all of those things!!!

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