chores

[anais]

I'm sick of living in a bombsite! I sometimes feel I'm just going round it circles trying to keep this place tidy. I just wondered what "chores" your little ones do around the house and at what ages. Thanks

Ha! Ha! Ha! None and never!
We've just spent nearly the whole day today trying to get the place cleaned up. Dh piles everything in corners or on chairs, he never actually puts anything away. The kids (age 6 and 8) have to be told to put one thing away at a time otherwise they just get confused. They try to set the table at mealtimes but it's really not done well enough. I once let them hoover, never again! I bet you didn't know a Dyson can suck up 3 pen tops, 6 pencils and 2 socks! It coughed a bit at a pair of dirty pants but otherwise survived the encounter with the kids!

Oh I'm well aware of what a Dyson can swallow, only in our house its me at the controls!

Oh! one job they do well is de-furring the settee. How stupid is this? I have two white cats then went and bought a Black Watch tartan suite! However, 3M make wonderful little sticky roller things which the kids love to use to take the cat hair of the suite. So we usually have a nice suite after DH's belongings have been removed!

My 2 older ones have a chore chart with a list of chores they have to do each day and the weekend. They have to put a check mark by each chore after Ive looked it over so I know that they did it. Some chores my dd does my ds doesnt do. They are 13 and 10. Some chores they do are emptying dishwasher, taking out garbage, helping fold laundry (mainly their own) except for towels which my dd does. They do their own rooms, and vacuum also. Sometimes my dd will dust ( she loves doing that). Most stuff is done on weekends because I dont like them to do much except for homework during the week. Before we moved we did give a small allowance for certain chores they did and if they didnt get them done by the end of that day they didnt get that part of their allowance. It seem to really motivate them. We havent been doing it though since we moved but I might start it up again.

I think 3 is a good age to start introducing small chores. Maybe helping them keep their rooms somewhat in order each day. Letting them put the silverware and napkins out for meals is good. Id be to afraid they might break my glasses and dishes. Showing them how to put their clothes in their dresser after we fold them is a good idea too. I think giving them small things to do each day might make them feel as if their being helpful and will hopefully help them to be tidy when their older.

Ds whose 3 puts the washing in the machine, puts it in the tumble dryer, helps clears away his toys at night and the videos he's thrown all over the floor and is a dab hand with the spoon when I'm making a stew or soup. He's not so good at baking as he tends to eat the mixture before it gets in the tins lol. He also puts his rubbish in the bin. Occasionally he will fetch me a drink from the fridge but he always brings me a plastic cup with it which is ugh. I'm sure he would love to wash up but I'd end up with more water over the floor while he's conducting his experiments than my stress levels can take so thats saved for special treat. I'm getting him trained slowly, he'll go and fetch things for me if he's feeling in a good mood. From the age of 12 I had to peel the veg for tea, set the table and dry up the pots after tea. I also had to dust and polish (might explain why I hate doing it now). Every Saturday I had to clean my bike and every day I had to polish my shoes. My mum was well into child labour lol.

I firmly believe in my children doing their bit round the house - for example if they have thrown things all over the place, then they have to put them all away. Sometimes it feels like it's harder work getting them to do it than doing it myself, but I really want them to learn that if they get things out, they don't put themselves away. It's a lot harder with dd2 than dd1 - if I threaten dd2 that things will be thrown in the bin she just says "well put them in the bin then, I'm too tired to clean up" and she seriously means it! They're 5.11 and 3.5 by the way, and I have considered starting some sort of allowance - 10p per chore, but at the moment they'll do most things for free, so will hold off on that for a while