At what age did you get children to do own ironing and hanging up?

[Thelastempressofconstantinople]

I am fed up with my role as laundry maid (exhausted after weekend). I’ve been thinking about getting my 2 older (just 13 and 14) to do their own ironing and hanging up - basically, handing them their piles of school shirts and trousers as they come out of the washing machine and saying here are your clean clothes boys, if you want to iron them you know where the ironing board is, either way, you hang them up, because I’m not. But I don’t want them to be the kids everyone laughs at, at school, because they have weird crumpled school clothes! I wondered at what age others had required this.

I don’t iron sports kits but would similarly hand clean sports clothes to them and say here! You deal with your own rugby football and pe outfits and put them away/in sports bags etc. Bad mother, or perfectly normal?

Sorry, should have made clear, I would also tumble dry the clothes before handing them over.

We don't iron in this house and most of my friends don't iron either, so I think you'll find that there isn't a child at school who gets laughed at for having weird crumpled clothes, unless your kids are at some weird school.

I have been handing over their clothes to them to put away themselves since they were about 7 or 8 I think.

I iron all of them. They start learning around 16 and some of them do their own from that point.

They do their own putting away from about the age of 5 although I'll do the wardrobe until they can reach the rail.

My children started doing their own washing at around 12/13. They went to a no uniform school so ironing has only ever been for special occasion clothes. Think we taught them both how to iron at around the same age but I can't remember if they ever did. Before that they were responsible for putting their washing in the basket and putting it away once it was clean and dry.

My children are ten years old and they have been putting away their own laundry since they were about 6 or 7 I think.

I’ve just started teaching them to iron but don’t plan to ask them to iron all their own stuff until they are much older.

My DH does about half the ironing though.

Mine are the same age and have been putting their own away for years. I do go in and have a total sort-out with them every few months though as their drawers get very jumbled over time. I still iron school shirts, I quite like doing it, but they do a bit here and there, usually tee shirts and easier stuff.

My daughter was doing the family’s ironing for her pocket money at 8 and I was called in by the school when she mentioned it to a teacher as I was putting her at risk. Well I won’t go into my response to that. At 12 my son was instructed to to his own ironing from them on and subsequently spent the next 15 years in rather creased up clothes (he is 26 now!) my daughter however st 24 looks immaculate in her pressed clothing so does her DH as she does his too, it is one of her fave jobs!

12,10,5yos all hang, and put away their clothes, 10&12 fold too, 5yo has help to reach the rail, usually from one of the others. don't iron in this house.

13&14 are plenty old enough to do it themselves. I'd even go so far as to say they are also old enough to load and set the washing machine and tumble drier themselves too.

Mine used to wear white cotton shirts at primary school, but their secondary uniform was polo shirts and sweatshirts, so there wasn't much ironing.

When they got Saturday/holiday jobs at 16 that required them to wear shirts, they started doing their own ironing. Adult kids now, and two still at home. One irons for both. The other hangs out the washing and puts it away after it's ironed/folded.

Putting away clothes much younger - I can't remember when, but primary school age.

Mine can do a load of laundry and hang it out/take it down or put it in the dryer, but we still do it as shared loads rather than each person doing their own as it's more efficient for separating whites etc.