Household chores suitable for a 7 & 10 year old?

[gorillalala]

So, I have two DSCs.. 7/10 years old.
(I also have a DD2 and another on the way.)

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Short version :
What responsibilities do YOUR similar age children have around the house?

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Long version :

DH (their dad) and I have been together/married for 5 years. No issues in marriage, family life etc.

However I have been frustrated with how little the DSCs do in terms of general household stuff. Obviously not when they were much younger, but the older they get the more it bothers me, not least because I will now want to teach my own kids good household habits and don’t want there to be big differences.

DSCs’ mum does literally everything for them at her house (she says ‘let them be kids’), and historically DH didn’t want to make them do stuff when they’re at our house because he didn’t want them to dislike being here or think of it as the boring house. However now he does recognise the need and importance of having the same house rules for all the children (age dependent obviously), so we’re slowly trying to build things up.
(By the way, I don’t disagree with ‘let them be kids’ but I hardly think that teaching them to do some small daily tasks is going to take away their childhood, and when else do you start teaching them to grow into responsible teenagers and adults?)

Stuff we have worked on in the last 6-12 months :

• putting their worn clothes in the laundry basket (as opposed to leaving them on the floor)
• making their bed in the morning (I mean, just pulling the duvet across really)
• putting away clean clothes in the correct drawers, we’ve done very clear labelling (minimal, mostly it’s done by us while they’re not here during the week)
• putting toys away once they’ve played with them
• turning off the tv/tablet when they walk away to do something else
• putting shoes away in the shoe cupboard when they arrive home, and putting their coats away
• removing their own plates from the table after a meal and either leave them in the sink or sometimes wash if the dishwasher isn’t going on
• put their own sweets/crisps/snack wrappers in the bin

My two year old can already do many of these things - e.g. knows that dirty clothes go in the laundry basket and clean clothes go back in the drawer, used dishes/cutlery she sometimes puts in the sink and any wrappers she says ‘put them in the bin’. She knows shoes go into the cupboard as soon we get home etc. I know that’s nothing special - I know that she does these things because we do them on repeat every day, and it therefore boggles my mind that the older children don’t do them as standard by now.

What I want to know really, is, what actual chores are REASONABLE to ask them to do? We obviously don’t want to make the weekends with them a chore-fest, but something needs to change in my opinion.

In addition to what you've mentioned my 4 and 7yo set the table, my 7yo clears messes she's with the cordless vacuum.

4yo does most of those bar rinsing the plate- he does bring them through if we ask. He also sets the table for meals. He will, sometimes, load/ unload the washer or dryer.
None of this, to me, is chores rather than being a normal member of the household rather than being slaved to.

Oh, and somewhat randomly, he will go and find the dustpan and brush for the kitchen/ hallway and do a half decent job of using it.

Tidying up is an ongoing work in progress although he's realising it's easier to find lego bits, and set out complicated layouts of railway if he tidies his area before getting something else out

I was going to say my 10 and 12 yr olds have been doing all your list for years and years! Looks like I'm in agreement with you.

Dust, vacuum, strip bed, help me put clean sheets back on. The 12 yr old can iron. Load/unload dishwasher. Peg out wet washing. Basic cooking. Empty schoolbag, pack schoolbag.

At 7, it was mainly alongside an adult. At 10, pretty independently.

Four and five year olds can do all those, except washing plates; they can’t reach.

Mine put their own laundry in the basket at two.

They can also pair socks, sort the re-cycling into the right boxes, carry in the groceries and help to put away, set the table.

It’s not called chores, it’s just mucking-in.

Puts clothes away, empties the dishwasher, hoovers (with a handheld hoover), all dirty washing into the washing machine and puts a wash on - all need to be prompted.

Clear and set the table, keep own room tidy by putting dirty clothes in the laundry bin and putting clean clothes away. Hanging up worn clothes wherever they 'live'. Putting toys away at the end of each session.

These tasks are allocated from the start, but the amount of support required in order to have them completed to s good standard should reduce over time.

A toddler would just be around while the tasks happen while an older child could be left to get on with it. This establishes the fact of chores as being necessary from all members of the household.

I wouldn’t call those chores but basic part of living in a family. My young primary and preschooler age children do all that and get their cutlery and bowls out etc. One thing I’m working on is them saying thank you for the meal before they leave the table, so basic table manners.

To me, chores are separate larger tasks such as washing the car, cleaning inside of the windows, vacuuming.
I would expect some to be done to earn pocket money.

Putting plates in the dishwasher and tidying up toys are just normal mucking in. That includes older children helping younger ones to put away toys or wash hands before a meal.

I agree that all of those are pretty normal, and not exactly chores.

I think the 10 yr old is of an age when it is normal to start cooking - in terms of it might be as much work as it is help at the moment, but, unless they start to learn the skills now (when they will probably be far more enthusiastic than when they become teens), then they won't have the skills when it would be a help.
Both 7 and 10 should be able to do things like get their breakfast / lunch / make drinks etc.
I would also include laying table, getting people a drink for their meal, and unloading dishwasher as tasks they can do (might need help reaching top cupboards?).

At this age, it is more an awareness raising thing that all these jobs need doing every day. Yes, you can probably do them as efficiently (or more so) without the dc helping, but it is just about it being automatic to clear the table together as the meal finishes, or put dirty clothes in the laundry basket, out of habit.

Thanks all for the comments so far - very helpful!! It's good to see that we're going along the right lines.