Chores

I would say to give him jobs that you know he can carry out well, without you having to do them again. So like cleaning his room, helping with dishes, watering plants, dusting, feeding animals. Just a few suggestions. Hope this helps!

I have a 12,10, &6 year old. We have rotating (monthly) chores. Setting table, unloading dish washer, and taking out garbage and recycle. Plus they have to do a 15 minute chore each day of my choosing. I write on a paper all of thier chores everyday. They also feed thier 4-H steers daily and my 6 year old feeds the chickens. With the 6 year old it is more work, she gets side tracked easily, but I believe chores are good for them. My 10 & 12 also cook dinner once a week to teach them to cook. They learn from chores, plus it gives you more time to spend with them when they can help out!!!
S. W

We tarted with vacuuming and putting away his things from around the house. He enjoys being the dish rinser, but it is not very efficient. We also gave him some fun jobs like playing with the dog and his gerbil, and also made doing his homework one of his chores so he got credit for accomplishing a task. Other little things like taking his lunch box out of his backpack and putting it in the kitchen, putting clothes away and generally being responsible for his things worked well at 7. My boy is now 9 and I am starting to give him chores beyond vacuuming that are more household/greater good things like taking out the garbage and recycling, mowing the lawn and washing windows are working out pretty well.

best wishes,
Sarah

well my son is 2 now and loves doing chores so ive got him taking out the rec. and helping me with laundry. and he gets stickers for each thing that he helps with then he gets a speacail something when he fills up his chart.

i dunno if that helps

but its working for us

You'd be surprised what they can do, and it's the best thing in the world for them. Chores teach them responsibility, not to be self centered, how to work and how to take care of themselves. You could buy those lysol (or whatever brand) wipes and have him wipe down his counter and sink in his bathroom daily, as well as the toilet. He could be putting his own laundry in his hamper, and when it's full taking it to the washer and putting it in. He can clear dishes from the table, set the table, unload the dishwasher (I was responsible for hand washing dishes when I was 7). He can make his bed daily, keep his bedroom clean, keep his clutter picked up from around the house, scrub doors as needed, keep his toys put away... These are all things my five-year-old son has been doing for some time. These are the sorts of things that build genuine self esteem in children - having a sense of accomplishment for doing something useful and taking care of some of their own needs.

D.! Hi! You have an open slate! Your son is at that age where he can be learning every thing from sweeping and vacuming the floors, taking out the trash, setting the table (casual and formal) to doing his own laundry and learning how to cook. These are all skills that he will need to learn that will help him take care of himself as an adult. As for chores vacuming and taking out the trash could be a good ones and maybe making lunch for the both of you one or two days a week. By making it fun for him you can start teaching him about proper diets, nutriton and portion sizes and when it's OK to eat the fun stuff.
Good luck to you, and remember make it fun. You'll have greater success.
Mandy

my 8 year old dusts, empties the dishwasher and folds towels (and puts them away).

My 7 year old has to pick up his toys, put away his clean clothes and put his dirty ones in the laundary room. Clean up his room, help change his bedding. He also helps with either dusting, vacuming, or gathering the trash to take out.

He can unload the dishwasher, clear off the table, take out the trash, help fold laundry. Really, he can do anything, as long as you're willing to teach him. Anything you teach will be a good life skill to learn anyway. How impressed would his future wife be if he actually knew how to fold his own socks, etc.? LOL! : )Hope this helps.

Hi D.,
When my daughter was about that age she was in to squirting stuff. So I gave her diluted glass cleaner and let her do things like the tv, etc. Or I would give her a pre soaked rag w/murphys oil soap (that's all I use to dust) and let her dust the surfaces like the coffee table, dining room table, and taught her how to move stuff around and put it back. Sure they dont' put it back just the way you want it, but what's a little moving things around when you have a little helper. Taking out the garbage if you have a regular garbage can is a good one too. You'll probably have to go behind them to make sure the lid is secure but that's ok too. And sweeping is a good one as well. She would do any one of these at random if I asked her too but has always taken out the garbage since that age.

Hope this helps.

L.

I always try to remember one thing: these are RESPONSIBILITIES...not chores. These are, when they get older, skills they have to learn for being on their own. My son is 5 and he helps me out by, making his bed, helping with trash, dusting, and laundry. So, for a 7 yr old, you could up it by putting dishes and vacuuming on the list. :D

My sons (9, 6, 4) help out - they all make their beds, they all help me empty the dishwasher & my oldest feeds our dogs every day (since he was 7). They offer to take out the trash too - makes them feel 'big'! If they want to earn extra $$, I let them help match socks & I fold them (not my most favorite task).

My almost 7 year old sorts recycling into the bins, feeds and waters the dog, cleans her room, makes her bed, and helps unload the dishwasher. I think at this age though, chores should be spread out through the weeks so they don't have more than 15-20 minutes a day including cleaning up their toys.

Hi D.,
I have quite few ideas, it depend how much you want him to get involved in the house work. Doing shores at any age helps with taking responsibilities later. Cleaning up his room and picking up his toys should be part of his life and no prizes about it. You can get him to help with setting the dinner table, something he can easily do. Even chopping the salad, sorting out the laundry or something like that. If you want him to do a job, you can get him to take the trash out. Other things appropriate for this age is feeding the dog and the cat, cleaning the cat litter, putting fresh water in theirs bowls and etc. Learning to take care of an animal is teaching them to take care of them-self too. It is not important what they are doing, just look around the house and you will find plenty of things he can do at that age (just don't expect him to do it properly). What is more important is to make them doing theirs job and being responsible. The other important thing is to know that there are jobs that they "have" to do and there are jobs that they can get paid for. They need to learn not to expect prizes or money for every little thing they did. If you pay them every time, they will get use to that and later in theirs life they will stop doing things just because mommy is not there to tell them "good job" or to pay them about it. To enforce that at this age you should avoid saying "good job" but you need to acknowledge what they did like:"Oh, I see that you clean up your room!". You can go further and check with your neighbours (try with the old ones) if someone needs him to do a "paid" job like bringing in the mail, weeding the garden, playing with younger kids and etc. You can also use this opportunity and teach him to appreciate a simple "thank you" too and acknowledge the gesture with: "Isn't it feel good when you can help someone in need?". It is up to your values what you want him to learn for life, you are his teacher. Hope I was helpful. Good luck!

I had my little guy start taking out the garbage about that age. I also have him collect all his dirty clothes and put them in the laundry room and basically teach him how to keep his bedroom clean, by picking up his toys etc. He helps the rest of us clean as well. But I started with the garbage. All my boys have been responsible for that chore. Sometimes they need help getting the bags tied. And sometimes it is too heavy for him to lift into the garbage can, but I make him open the doors and gates and lids on the cans outside for me or his big sister when that happens. Good luck.

D.,

Believe it or not, 7 year olds can do a lot more than most parents give them credit for. Start with the simple "me" chores, clean his room, set the table, clear the table...

As he grows into these chores you can add things like do the dishes, or take out the trash, or even yard work.

Think about the chores your parents gave you and at what age. Generally, that is a good test.

Maybe the first time he does each chore, you can help him to show him how you want it done. And lots of praise.

It's hard to know these days what is chores and what is "hard labor". But again, if you had to do it at that age, your son can, too.

I hope this helps! Good luck!!!

For my six year old, it's her responsibility to clean her room, clean up her mess in her bathroom, take out the garbage on garbage day, bring the garbage cans in after the dump truck comes, clean her animals messes, feed her animals, and sweep the kitchen floor.

She handles these things very well and since she doesn't have to do all of them everyday, she's not overwhelmed.

Take care
C.

get the laundry from the rooms, sort laundry lights from darks, sort socks, feed animals (although my 5 yr old is messy) wash the table after meals, carry in groceries from the car, I have a dirt devil that is light weight he loves to vacumme the stairs....

Hi D.,

I'm the mother of four ranging in age from 5-20. Once they turn 3 they start emptying the dishwasher and are responsible for cleaning their own bedrooms. If he hasn't had chores to do yet, I would start with those two. It's very helpful for you and makes him feel as if he is accomplishing something important around the house. If you don't use a dishwasher, then perhaps you can wash the dishes, and he can dry and put them away. Making their own bed each morning is also a good one to start young and keeping their bathroom clean.

Good Luck,

D.

D.,
I have our 7yr old vacuum, help put dishes away or in the dishwasher, put clothes in the washer and dryer, (I add the soap and turn on),clear the dinner table, feed the pets. He also helps with cooking and loves it so much that he has been helping his 5yr old brother use the microwave with mom's supervision.

Best wishes.

My four year old feeds and waters the dog, picks up his toys, vacuums the playroom, strips the sheets off of his bed and puts them into the washing machine, takes his dirty clothes to the laundry room, helps me load the dryer (I drop the wet clothes onto the dryer's open door and he shoves them inside the dryer) and put the drier sheet in the dryer; he helps me make his bed; he helps me set the dining room table; and he takes care of his "garden" (which consists of a bean plant, two strawberry plants, and a flower . . . and yes, HE picked the plants!).

He darn sure doesn't do a "perfect" job with chores like vacuuming, etc. but he is so very proud of his efforts and he's so eager and happy to help!

My two year olds pick up shoes and put them in the bins; pick up their toys and put them in the toy box; and they take trash and put it in the trash can.

Our boys from the time they were young were responsible for garbage & recycling. They collected garbage cans from each room, put them together and took it out. The recycling, the same. That's a once a week chore. An everyday chore might be sweeping a room, like the kitchen floor, putting dishes in the dishwasher, folding any laundry that's in the dryer, bringing down dirty laundry and sorting it, or sorting and putting away silverware (and dishes if they don't go in too high of a place.

My three year old has one chore she does daily, which is feed her fish. The other chore she gets to choose from a list: laundry (loading/unloading/matching socks), dishes (loading/unloading the dishwasher), or sweeping (we sing songs from cinderella or the working song from enchanted, she loves it!).

Other than those, she loves to help daily by keeping things up (toys, dishes, trash, etc.) or helping with the baby. When she's older we will probably add garbage, windows/mirrors, dusting, etc. At his age I'd have him pick two chores a day along with picking up his things and doing homework. This gives them a choice about what they're doing so they don't begrudge it as much!

Another good idea I heard about but haven't really started is "cinderella saturdays" (or sundays) where everyone gets other chores instead of their usual daily ones, this could be the day that dusting, windows, etc. can be done (stuff that's not done everyday).

My boys didn't really do many chores until recently. I had to have major back surgery and couldn't lift anything over 10 lbs. for 3 months, so they really pitched in and I was surprised at what a huge help they can be. They're 7 & 10, and they now alternate setting and clearing the dinner table, plus every day they feed the dogs, make their own beds and clean up their room. They also sort the laundry and run loads through the washer & dryer, change their own linens, carry in the groceries and put them away.

Every night they have a checklist to do before they go to bed that includes emptying out lunch boxes & putting the ice packs back in the freezer, getting any wet or dirty clothes out of their backpacks (from swimming/summer camp), setting out their backpacks, lunch boxes, clothes & shoes for the next day. This has really smoothed out the morning routine and made things easier.

I think that it has been good for them to have a sense of accomplishment, and I don't think that they have felt over-burdened at all. They have always been pretty respectful boys, but I've also noticed since my surgery that even though I'm now healed up and much better off, they're holding doors for me, offering to help without being asked more often, and generally seem to be more appreciative and aware of what I do for them... Not that I'd recommend this method, but at least something good came out of being laid up for a couple of months!

Hello, I have a seven year old and she likes to earn a little money, paying your son is certainly up to you. She gets paid to clear the table, set the table, put the clean utensils away out of the dishwasher. Once a week she gets paid to strip her bed and put all her clean clothes away after I have done the laundry. It is her responsibility to mark down what she has done throughout the week. We pay her so that she can get a better idea that it takes hard work to earn $ and that if she wants to purchase something to really think before you buy. She gets paid every Sunday, a portion of her earnings goes into savings, charity and then her spending $.

Good luck in whatever you do.

L.

I have a 7 yr. old daughter too, and she wants to earn a allowance. So I have her 2 times a week get all the dirty clothes together and I have her clean out the garbage in my vechile. She like to run the vaccum BUT i only let her do that if I am behind. That way I dont have to go back and do it again. Chores that are easy and will littlen our load a little is ok. Not something that we would have to go back and do again behind them. goodluck!!!

he can clean his room and clean up the things that he takes out. he can put his dishes in the dishwasher. Or take out the trash in the bathrooms. The most important thing is to teach him to clean up after themselves.

Whatever works for your family. Getting a scheduled agreement now will help him and you so he is used to it and it is routine.
I had to do almost everything for my family and siblings, when I was 11 yrs old, my parents divorced, so I went 180 degrees and spoiled my boys.
Family meetings are a good time to talk about what needs to be done and if you let him choose what he would like to do he may be more likely to follow through.
In retrospect I would do it differently now, my future daughter's in law will think I spoiled our boys, and they will be correct.

If you live in a single-family home - why not have him water the plants outside? That way it can be fun as well. Most certainly he can weed (getting exercise at the same time).

Having him be responsible for his areas - such as bathroom and room are good as well.

My 3 year old folds all his own laundry and sometimes all of our towels (even the big ones which he lays on the clean floor to fold), helps unload the dryer, takes his dishes to the sink, "vacuums" with is vacuum while I am using the big vacuum, helps rake grass in the yard after mowing, waters plants with my supervision (so he doesn't keep filling the watering can and emptying it on the pots), helps me take out the trash/recycling, takes things to the trash/recycling in the house for me while I am sorting mail for instance. He would love to do more to help, and I let him help whenever I can. My only problem is that he is such a perfectionist that he folds his clothes better than his father and I do (and we're really neat with them) and if he can't get it absolutely crisp and perfect he throws a fit. We normally tell him that it is okay and that he is doing an even betterjob that mom and dad can do. Sometimes with even the big towels, you can't tell who folded them....if only I had been that good that fast! LOL I remember tripping over them and having an aweful time of it.

One thing you might do is start setting asside, say an hour each night that both of you do chores together. That way your son feels like he is helping you and contributing at the same time, rather than just "doing chores that mom's making me do". After he is used to helping out, you can make certain chores that he does all the time...like always doing his own laundry (he's old enough that you should be able to teach him the concept of sorting, etc and then check his work) and then chosing one or two other chores that he will do to help out.

Hi D.,
My five year old. Helps set the table.. Before she goes to preschool she must make her bed.. Put dirty clothes in the hamper. Wipe the bathroom counter and sink down. Also she helps me dust and loves the throw away pledge wipes. she helps fold but not very good at it. Pick up toys ect. If she completes all her chores she gets her 25 cents for the day. I am trying to teach her money doesn't grow on trees. If she does not do her chores then no reward.
best of luck.

My kids all have chores that I put on a chart that they mark off daily. My 9 year old feed and waters the cats as well as clean the litter box, feeds her fish, make bed, pick-up clothes, pick-up toys and books (clean her room more or less), clean her plate of the table, help fold towels, and does them all really well. 5 year old feeds his fish, helps empty the trash, cleans his room (same as sister), picks up tys in the living room, cleans plate off table, puts away clean clothes, clean up outside toys, and help with dishes. My 3 year old feeds his fish (we have 4 fish tanks lol), helps clean the bedroom, cleans his plate off the table, helps with dishes, and will help with anything I let him. They all know that their chores have to be done before bed and can be done anytime during the day.

7 is a fun age. My 6 1/2 year old started taking the garbages out (kitchen, bathrooms, laundry room). He loves doing this. Also, he likes taking the recycling out as well. This is also the age to make him become more accountable for himself and his toys, keeping his bedroom clean, putting his dirty laundry in the hamper or basket. My 12 year old started putting his clean laundry away at this age too.
There are alot of little things for little boys to do, without putting too much on them, but teaching them to be responsible.

Hi D.,

Not sure what you have your son doing now for chores, but it's a good idea to get them started in a fun way. Usually young children want to be helpful and try to please. Keeping his room neat and orderly ( not perfect of course) is a good place to start. Having a routine of making his bed and picking up toys, books, etc. are good basic chores. He can also pick up dirty clothes and place them where you have your dirty laundry. Basically, learning to be responsible for his own mess and stuff is good for him, you and later on his roommate, housemate or spouse. After those tasks are a habit, then it will be time to move on to helping set the table and if he's interested, helping Mom cook. By the time he's ready to be out on his own, he should know how to do basically everything a person needs to know to run a household. If you can help make it fun and give him some inexpensive rewards as your budget allows every now and then, and express your pleasure in his efforts; it will go a long way towards him developing a good attitude toward work. If you can enjoy simple pleasures together after the chores are ended that helps too. I'm talking a book shared together, or a walk to the park. Kids need you, your love and time above all else. Wishing you all the best.

Our older son learned how to do all the necessary life skills before he left for college, has been married nearly 10 years, and has a wife who appreciates his help!

Jan (mom and grandma, of a great 33yr. old son and a developing 14 yr old son)

I agree with cleaning their room, if you have a lower closet rod it works great...they can hang their clothes. We have always had a rod where the kids could reach to hang their own clothes. I always folded the clothes and put them in their individual baskets and they had to put them away. It works great.....
I also have them take turns in cleaning the bathrooms...them Savannah has to empty the dishwasher and Mac is in charge of the garbage. Then when Pops cuts the trees they have to pick up the scrappings and put it in the refuse container. They are alittle bigger than your daughter but they have been doing it for a long time. Mac sweeps the garage and Savannah sweeps the porches. When we have flowers to water we have them take turns...they vacuum the stairs too.
I have learned alot from hubby that there is alot that they can do.
I USED TO DO EVERYTHING AND NOT DELEGATE VERY WELL THEN HE TOOK OVER AND I LEARNED THAT THEY CAN DO ALOT OF THINGS.
Our laundry room is downstairs and they take theclothes from the bathroom to the laundryroom and when they are finished in the dryer they bring them upstairs. That really helps. I do not have them put clothes in the dryer because I hang so many things. Now it is funny how I used to think I had to do everything....maybe things do not get done just perfect but it gets somewhere things were backed up when I tried to do it all or I was really dragging.
Plus I guess you have to let them do things to learn.
I have Savannah clean off the bookcases too....oh I guess I can think of alot of things now....LOL L.

You are doing a great job...

Super advice so far. Another thing that helps motivate my 7 year old son is talking to him about the team approach to our family. "I help you, you help me. I need you to help me so that we have time to do more fun things...." are some things I have said.

My son feeds/waters the dog. Sorts his laundry into lights/darks/whites in the laundry room. Puts it away and picks up after himself. He also helps in many little ways with his younger siblings. I often tell him what a help he is to me (which he is) and that I appreciate it. It builds pride and self-esteem without praising too much which I think can lead to behavior only being done to get the praise.

AND I don't attach allowance to chores. Chores are for helping the family function better as a team and need to be done so that it never becomes an option not to do them and sacrifice allowance (I imagine later it would be an issue more so than now). He has other ways to earn extra money outside of regular chores.

I think I will add some other little ones after reading some of the other posts. Great ideas.

My kids started with chores by taking care of the recycling and emptying the dryer. They can also help sort and fold the laundry.
My boys are no 14 and 11, and they do the dishes, laundry, garbage and recycling.
Of course they also take care of their own room.

Sweeping front and back porch, watering plants, weeding, empty clean dishwasher, folding clothes...this is a great one because there is always laundry. The more they fold, the better they get. Its far from perfect but by the time they are 9 or ten, they can fold a load all by themselves.

My son emptys the clean dishwasher every day plus one other chore that differs daily, usually one I listed above. The goal isn't only to get these things done, mostly its to have them contribute to the family and learn how to care of their space and respect the work of others.

Maybe just keeping him room tidy, cleaning up his toys in all rooms and something relating to dinnertime or the kitchen, like setting the table, clearing it, helping take out the dishes from the dishwasher?

my son when he was 5 was putting the silver ware away(except for the sharp objects) and he was also scooping the litter boxes and cleaning his room.... as he got a lil older the chores increased.... good luck

I have two boys ages 6 & 9 and they actually love to vacuum! Also, they will vacuum the stairs too. For some reason it seems fun to them and surprisingly they do a pretty good job. They also like to clean windows, mirrors and glass doors using the Windex spray bottle and paper towels...keeps them busy for a while! My husband gives them chores in the yard sometimes like picking up pine cones for 5 cents each - now that gives them incentive! Although he did drop it down to a penny I think after he realized how many they could pick up in such a short amount of time! Sometimes my boys like to dust if they have a swiffer handled duster (they learned that one in preschool). It is amazing their sense of pride and accomplishment when they do help out...good luck!

I have my 6 yo get the mail, and bring up the garbage/recycling bins when they are empty on garbage day. He is also responsilbe for picking up his own room, taking his laundry basket of clothes tot he laundry room on wash day and putting away the clean clothes when they are returned to him. On occasion he sweeps the back patio for extra allowance. My 4 yo is also responsible for all of this stuff too.

Our son just turned 8, but have been doing chores for awhile now. We also have a 6 and a4½ yr. old. They all do chores and the ones that our son is responisible for are making is bed, cleaning his room and taking out the garbage. In addition to those chores, there are 6 more that rotate each week between the 3 of them and they are load and unload dishwasher, vacuum, set the dinner table, clear the dinner table, sort recycling and sort the laundry. It's amazing that even at these young ages how much help they call can be. The chores may not be done perfectly, but like everything, in order to get better at something it has to be practiced over and over. Good luck!

Hello D.,
I am a mother of 3 boys, ages 13,8 and 5. My 13 yr old does the dishes and helps clean the bathroom and laundry. My 8 yr old takes out the trash and recycling, he also helps clean the bathroom and folds the laundry. My 5 yr old helps with the vacuuming, granted I have to go over it one more time and finish it up but he does love to vacuum. I also help my two older boys with the laundry. Hope this gives you some ideas.

at 7yo he is totally capable of taking out the trash, feeding a pet daily (if you have one), watering the flowers in the yard, sweeping the kitchen floor, sorting the recyclables, windexing windows, taking fingerprints off the walls, dusting with a dust feather (my kids love that one!), etc.

i think he might be too young to do dishes (there's just too much opportunity for him to get hurt.), or laundry (that could be a mess.). but anything you aren't expecting to be "perfect" should be okay for him to do.