Older Child Chores

I have two boys 7 and 8.. I think its about what they can do.. my 7 year old loves to do the laundry..he puts it in starts the washer and puts it in the laundry by himself.. They both fold and hang up there own laundry now. my 8 year old cleans the living room and dinning room. they both fight over who's going to clean the bathroom.I usually have to supervise the bathroom cleaning but they are so helpful. and I have them put there dishes in the dishwasher.. i may have to rearange but and least they are getting the hang of it.. I think you could give them a chore. you will probably find out they like doing the chores because they are helping you.. I explain to my boys that by them helping me out it leaves more time for us to spend quality time together..

I have a 7,5 & 3 year old and I struggled with the same thing. I found "chores" that each of them didn't mind helping out wiht for their alowances. I personally think keeping their room clean is a given, but we use a chart and if over the week they have kept in clean, then they get a sticker-then when they get how ever many stickers they are old in a row, i.e 3,5 or 7 they get to pass on 1 chore the next week. You'd be suprised on how hard they try to get those stickers. :)

My 7 yr. son has to take the trash out every day. Also he has to wipe down the toilet and floor with an antibacterial wipe/s.

My 5 yr. old is in charge of vacuuming. We only have carpet upstairs so, she does it 3x/wk. She also has to water the indoor plants.

My 3 yr. loves to help clean anything. So I give her a rag and she is in charge of wiping down the walls and door jams. I let her do this when I'm fixing dinner to keep her occupied.

All of them get they chores marked down on the chart and then earn their money accordingly. Because they are so young we've been able to "pay" them according to their ages, again 3,5 & 7. So far it hasn't really been a problem, but I'm imagining they will want more money as they get older. However, the chores will increase too! :)

Hope this helps...

Hello! You can have them do whatever you want them to, as long as it's safe! You can show them the things you want them to do first, so that's it's done the way you need it to be, and they understand what's expected of them. Don't just say, "do this". Because they may not understand the "proper" way of doing things. For example, you could always have them set the table! Have them lay out the napkins, forks, spoons. You could have them sweep, make their beds, and more! If you want them to help, just make sure it's something that everybody is comfortable with, and safe for them to do! Or, you could even sit down with them and talk about some options, so maybe there is something they like to do. When my daughter was younger, I used to have her help pick up. For example, if I was folding clothes, she put the clothes in the correct drawers. I also had her sweep, straighten up, and clean her room...sometimes vacuum 'cause she liked it! Hope that helps!

I have four kids, and once a week, one child does the garbage, recycling and dishes. The next day is someone elses turn. On the weekends when it's house cleaning day, they are expected to help out with laundry, and vacuuming and whatever else it takes to get the house ready for the week. They do complain about the extra, but then I remind them of all I do for them and that it's not all my job to clean up everything. Around Christmas time, it's also a good time to earn extra money, but usually it's just expected of them to do. I don't pay my kids to do these things, because no one pays me to do them. They are just part of running a family.I have paid them in the past, but only if they did it without me nagging them about it. (that hardly worked) My kids are 11, 10, 9, and 7. Good luck.

I really think that any "chore" that they do that involves cleaning up after themselves should not be an allowance chore. Learning the responsibilities of their actions is very important at any age. It depends on how many chores you want to load them down with, I think. They are only 6 and 8. I would think that having your 6 and 8 year old equally help you with the laundry would be a good place to start. And definetly at least rinsing dishes and putting them in the sink or dishwasher would be good too. I personally think that any "chore" that was not directly created by them could be allowance based. Such as, taking out the trash. They are not the only ones that make trash, so if they take out the trash on their own, they could get like a quarter or something. Maybe make 2 lists...one list is a list of chores they HAVE to do, with no $$$ involved. Then make a 2nd list that shows things EXTRA they can do to help out and get a set monetary amount for it....that way you can keep track. Maybe something like, taking all the trash out of the car could be one. They are not the only ones that ride in the car, so that to me makes sense. That is how I am going to rate my kids on allowance. I personally think it is silly to pay a child to do what they should be doing anyway. It's a family and it takes a lot of work to make a family run. They should learn this at any age, it's just a matter of how intense you want to make it. Hope that helps. :)

I read a great book...it's so great I forgot the name. It's Money Clues For The Clueless. No offense meant. LOL

http://www.allbookstores.com/book/1577487397/Carol_Smith/...

There is a great chapter on this. It states that you tell your kids they get an allowance. Regular and set every week, money...whatever you deem appropriate for your family. This is their money and it comes to them no matter what. The are also expected to do chores and contribute to the family like everyone else. It can be whatever you feel they are capable of. Cleaning their room is a good start. Just regular upkeep, making their bed (the best they can) when they get up or maybe dish night for the older one. If they don't do the expected chores, they lose the right to SPEND their money.

Also, give them opportunities to gain extra cash for special projects like cleaning fridge, helping fold clothes...etc.

Don't reward with money for something they should be doing anyway...which is the message. With rights comes responsibility. It's just a different way of thinking about money.

Hope this helps.

I have a 9 year old son. I do feel that he is required to clen his room and his bathroom. Since the age of 3 my husband and I began to start training him to pick up his toys, laundry, and throw his trash away. He still continues to do so. For an allowance, he does the little extras around the house like sweeping the main living room area, Hallways, and Family room. Sometimes he saves cans or plastics and recycles them. I also cater from home, so he sometimes helps me with that. I hope I have been of help to you. Take Care....N.

P.S I'm not sure if you have a MYSPACE profile, but you can see some of the work I have posted on my profile, or you can give me an email address and I could send you some pictures.

I also have a 6 and an 8 year old girls. My husband and I sat down with them and made a list of chores for both of them that they can do for an allowance. We included making their beds and cleaning their rooms, but they also have to feed the dogs and cat, help clean the house, help with laundry, and put their dishes into the dishwasher. The older one also has to let the dogs out. We have a check list each week for this. We pay the girls so much for every check mark. We don't give them a lot of money though. For example, for every 5 check marks they get a quarter, for every 3 check marks they get a dime and for any extra check marks that they may have we give them a penny. I know that it's not a lot of money, but they understand that if they don't do a chore they won't get money and any money that they do earn, has to be saved. I'm just tryign to teahc them a good work ethic ore than anything.

S.,

I have been the step mom of my 4 & 6 year old daughters for the past 4 years. Several Years ago we implimented a chore chart. Before, we would pay them 5 cents per chore completed. For the past 6 months we changed it to be that the ENTIRE chart must be completed in order to get allowance, this is done on a weekly basis. Chores for them include, making their bed, Room clean before bed, Brushing Teeth, Setting the Table, Clearing the table, Homework, helping sort laundry, and the "EXTRA" for when they are caught doing something nice. Now the key is they only get a sticker in the chart if they complete these all without having to be told more than once. This has helped us cut down on having to repeat ourselves and allowed the kids to take some responsibility on their own.

Hello S. B. I'm 36 yrs old. My sister has a 5 yr old and a 9 yr old. What works for their family is: They rinted out & posted a schegule on the inside of a lower cabinet. Taking out the trash, unloading the dishwash (no knives), vaccuming, and dusting are all consider chores in their home. Anything that helps the entire family in their home is consider a chore. Cleaning up after yourself is not consider a chore that earns them allowences. Helping the family keep up the house chores earns then allowence. Hope this helps!

What I do with my girls is I write simple chores on small cards. I let them choose a chore (or two), have them complete the chore, then return the card(s) to me when the chore is done. I usually give them a time limit, like before 5:00pm. It works out very well for us. Sometimes, I stick the cards on the "chore door" (a swinging door in our house that goes to the kitchen). I put their names above the chore (or chores) I want them to do that day. They need to do the chores BEFORE they go out with their friends. My girls are teens now and still go to the "chore door" for instructions on what needs to get done. This is especially helpful to me if I need to work before they get up in the morning on the weekends. It is also a way to let my husband know what I want to get done during the day. In the past, the girls were able to earn money by doing more chores than they were expected to do. One of my daughters once did 8 chores so she could use the money for the movies.

Here are some websites for you that may help you in deciding what chores are appropriate for your girls.

http://familyfirst.net/parenting/chorelist.asp
http://www.marriedadults.com/chores.php

What I did with my two step-sons was to make a chore checklist & allowance contract. I also rotated their days, so one day one did the dishes and the next day the other one did them and so on. Even though they are two years apart, I still gave them the same amount of chores to do. If you would like to see an example of the chart that I originally put together for them, I would be happy to share it with you. Unfortunately it will not allow me to paste here, since it is an excel spreadsheet; but I would be happy to email it to you.

Best of luck..

Hi S.,

I have a 7 year old boy ... his chores are homework every night when he gets home from school. Since he is the only man in our house he takes the bathroom trash and the bedroom trashes out every week ( and he enjoys it he really thinks he is helping us alot)

My 5 year old daughter she helps with dishes and she helps sweep the bathroom floor which she enjoys doing....

They both are responsible for picking up thier school clothes and pJ's from the day before and putting them in wher ei can wash them someteimes they will ask to help with laundry...

they both get 10 dollars every 2 weeks along with they both have gameboys and if they want new games for them or if they want a new toy they have a walmart card that i put money on for them ...

I grew up where everyone helped around the house and everyone took part in making sure the house was in order

maybe i am too hard on them i dont knwo but i want them to understand the value of family and the value of earning your money that not everything is just given to you for free...

maybe this will help you maybe it wont ;)

hopefully it does

A.

This is my philosophy: When one is a part of a family one has both responsibilities and rewards. Parents earn money, if working outside the home, in the form of a wage and if as an at home parent by sharing the wage earner's salary. So it is with children. They have the responsibility of helping with chores and receive an allowance because they are a part of the family. Chores and allowance go together. I didn't pay for individual chores. Those chores are a part of making the family work.

I might pay for doing something extra but I can't think of anything appropriate at this age. At an older age it might be doing something that I would otherwise pay another adult to do such as pruning the bushes. It would require that they do some research and learn how to do the job. Or when I'd always paid to have the lawn mowed to give the job to my child when they were old enough to do it for me.

One of my daughter's babysitters would pay her a quarter to do small things for her. My daughter was 7 or 8. She said that she did this so that she could feel the success of earning money. If you want to pay your daughters for doing something you could pick some chores for which they would be paid. Any chore that's age appropriate would be appropriate for pay.

Or are you asking what chores are appropriate for what age? I have seen lists in books. What I go by is if they are able to do the chore safely once they've been taught how to do it, then it's age appropriate. A common sense approach.

Supervising your daughter while she does the laundry sounds like teaching her to share in family responsibities. But once she is able to safely and in an acceptable way do the laundry then you could choose to pay her for that chore. If you choose to pay her then she can choose to not do the chore. Do the chore and you're paid. Don't do the chore and you're not paid and you are also not in trouble.

I've heard the suggestion of having a list of chores for which you're paid and a list that are just required because you are a family member. That just seemed to difficult to keep track of for me. I definately believe that a child should not be paid for each chore that they do. After all the parents are not paid for the chores that they do.

S.-

This one is kind of easy for me as our 2 year old already has a chore chart. As of now it is little things that he just gets stickers on his chart for, but it will get him used to helping around the house. So here is my two cents: They should be expected to keep up their room, make their bed, clean up after themselves (puttin their dishes in the dishwasher, not dropping their clothes/backpack whatever in the middle of the floor, etc) Anything above and beyond should be chores where they get paid/allowance for. What we plan on doing is setting down the rules or what is expected for them to do (the list above) Then we will make a chart for the week of extra duties that they can choose from and a price next to each duty, that is what they can earn for the week. This way it teaches the children addition and such about keeping track of how much $ they will make that week if they complete the tasks, and each child can choose to do as much or as little as they want, but that is the only way they get their allowance. So make a chart with such things as take out the garbage, vaccuum the living room, clean the bathroom, help with the laundry, etc. and then put whatever $ you want next to the item and then sit down with your girls and have them take turns choosing which chores they want for the week. Make sure you check daily that they completed the chores and put a sticker or something in the box, at the end of the week sit down with them and see how they did. If they didn't do their chore completely or every day then they only get partial payment. This will teach them how to manage money, responsibility and how to follow through on things they have commited to. Hope I was of some help. Good Luck!
B.

Hello. I think them cleaning their room is not something that should be paid for. They should begin to learn that a clean room is something that will make them feel good inside and should do for themselves. Washing off their own dishes and putting their own dishes in the dishwasher should be rewarded but not too generously. I have a 10 yr old son and he loves to vacuum so for your 8 yr old, have her help vacuum for some extra spending money, then for the 6 yr old, maybe have her help wipe down countertops. nothing too hard but just so they know they are helping mom and also getting alittle something for themself. the laundry i would suggest you do, but sort them and have them help you put them away because knowing kids, they will be shoved into the drawer. but having them start and run the whole thing at that age seems allittle too much. good luck. and hope it helps.