Ah, chores...the big parental debate.
Yes. A few. No.
Pay. No pay.
Lincoln and I have debated back and forth on this subject. He grew up with chores. Every Saturday was house cleaning day. His mom worked outside of the home.
I grew up with very few household responsibilities. My mom took wonderful care of our home...by herself. Sure, once in awhile she would ask me to dust or clean my room, but that was rare...usually she just did it herself.
She stayed home part of my life, went to school part of my life, and worked part of my life.
So, here Lincoln and I stand on total opposite sides of the fence.
But...I think I've come mostly over to his side.
Yes chores.
No pay.
Some days I feel guilty about asking my children to do chores.
They are just children.
But...(there's always a "but" right?) I've decided that they are:
1. going to be better adults because of it.
2. they are going to keep a better home in the future.
3. they are going to be more helpful to their spouses.
My mother in law suggested that I get ping pong balls and write the chores on them.
The kids get to pull a ball out and do the chore.
My mom found and bought these adorable ping pong balls for me!
I like this method for a few reasons.
1. It's more fun.
2. One kid doesn't get stuck doing the same job day after day.
3. They will get exposure to different jobs and be more versatile!
The jobs I've written on them so far are:
1. Living Room: pick up and put away all items that don't belong in the living room.
2. Laundry: Gather all the dirty laundry from the bedrooms and sort it in the laundry room. Take any clean clothes out of the dryer and take them to the living room to be folded.
3. Glass: clean the glass and mirrors around the house. Not windows.
4. Dishes: gather all the dirty dishes from around the house (Mom's bedroom, kitchen table and counters, and living room) put them in the sink. If the dishwasher is clean, unload it.
5. Playroom: pick up the playroom.
6. Wipe kitchen: Wipe down kitchen table, counter tops, and stove.
7. Bedroom: pick up bedroom, make beds if they aren't already made.
8. Toilet: clean both toilets in the house.
9. Dust: dust all wood pieces in the living room (except bookshelves).
10. Sweep: sweep the kitchen. Spot mop any spots that won't sweep up.
Obviously I don't expect perfection with any of these jobs because they are 6 and 7 years old...but I think they are all jobs that are reasonable for their age range.
Putting away laundry will always be a family job. The boys put theirs away, Gray helps put hers away, and I put Lincoln and I's away.
We have decided that we aren't going to pay our kids for these chores because it's part of what comes with being a part of a family. We all must pitch in together to take care of the things God has given us.
Generally I just ask Graysen to help me with whatever I'm doing or to entertain herself. The boys don't really like that she gets to play while we work, but I try to explain to them that at 3, entertaining yourself IS important work!
What jobs do you think are age appropriate for 3 year olds, and 6-7 year olds?
10 comments:
We have 5 kids in our home. Ages, 10, 9, 4, 3 and 4 months. We too have a chore list that all the kids but the 4 month old has to complete. I debated over paying them but decided it gives them a way to earn some money,learn to save for things they would like to buy. Each child have containers to put their money in. 1 container is tithe money - 10 percent of their money goes to our church, 1 container is savings - I let them decide how much money they want to put in there, but they have to put some. Then the last container is for play money. This money they are allowed to spend however they wish. Now as far as chores (these are for the 10 & 9 year olds) switch laundry loads (take clothes out of dryer, put in clothes basket to fold, take clothes out of washer and put in dryer), sweep both bathrooms, dump trash cans, sweep kitchen, vacuum under kitchen table (we have a big area rug under our table), vacuum living room, keep toys picked up, clean bathroom sink (they always leave toothpaste gunk in the sink), dump garbage. The chores for the 4 and 3 year old - vacuuming (they love to do this), sweeping kitchen floor, keeping toys picked up, taking clothes out of dryer....seems like the 4 and 3 years old have more fun doing the chores than the 10 and 9 year old. They all can earn $5 per week IF they complete their chores with out me asking. If they only do a few then I would only give them like $2 or $3. I'm a little more easy on the 3 and 4 year old but they still have to help do something every day. Making beds is a must! They get Saturday and Sunday off.
Thanks for your thoughts Joyce Kay! I hadn't thought about gathering the trash...that is another good one! I would like to eventually teach the older boys how to do the laundry (washer and dryer), but they aren't tall enough to get the clothes out of the washer yet...maybe in a year or two!
I tried to leave a comment guess I hit the wrong button because it isn't showing up so I'll try it again. We have 5 kids in our house. Their ages are 10, 9, 4, 3 and 4 months. Both me and my husband work full time. I debated on chores because both me and my husband never had to do chores while growing up but both our mom's were housewives. So....it was different since they didn't have an outside the home job. We have a chore list for 4 of the kids. Each day they have a different chore to do, I mix it up so that they aren't doing the same things every day. Making their beds is a must!!! Chores that the 10 and 9 year old have include washing dishes, sweeping the bathrooms, dumping trash cans, switching loads of laundry (taking clothes out of dryer putting in basket and taking clothes out of washer and putting them in the dryer), dumping the garbage, vacuum under kitchen table, vacuum living room and hall way, cleaning their bathroom sink (they always leave toothpaste gunk in the sink yuck!), and keeping toys put away at the end of the day. The 4 and 3 year olds chores include vacuum livingroom, sweeping kitchen, taking clothes out of dryer, keeping toys picked up. We also debated on paying the kids to do their chores. We decided that paying them would teach them how to save their money for items that they wanted, how to give tithes and save for a rainy day. Each child can earn $5 per week if they do their chores without me reminding them. (I'm easier on the younger two after all they are only 3 and 4...so I do allow reminders to them) If they don't complete all their chores for that week, they only get paid for the days that they did their chores. (Example is they do chores 3 days, I will only pay them $3.) They get Saturday and Sundays off except for making their beds..that is required everyday. To me a bed that is made just makes the room look better. Each child also have 3 containers. 1 is labeled Tithes - they have to put 10% in this container, 1 is labeled Savings - I let them decide how much to put in here but they have to put something in it and the last container is labeled Play Money. The money they collect in this container, they can use to purchase whatever they want. I feel both have chores and paying them is a learning experience.
I think each kid can make their own bed. They can put own clothes in laundry basket. That is what I think we will do. Also, we have a shoe basket by the door. You could have your 3 year old in charge of making sure all shoes go in there. She could also do things that small people do well... climb under tables, look under the couch for items and take them out, that kind of thing.
I bet if you have a dust buster, each kid would fight for who gets to use it! Maybe have a small broom like a hand broom for the bathroom, and then do the dustbuster. I think that would be a good chore!
I think also she could wipe things down, like chairs that get sticky or door knobs (maybe? tall enough?). I have DHH help with dusting, but really, its just a chance for him to use an old sock as a sock puppet and wipe, he likes that!
DHH's other choir is getting the mail, seriously. He has done it since last summer. He needs help getting it, of course, but he carries it in the house. I think its neat to see he is proud of something like this! He also really likes to sweep and things, even if it is UNhelpful. I use clorox wipes on things like his little potty, and he enjoys wiping with them. Maybe G can do that?
Mrs. Haid,
I've often thought about getting a dust buster! We had one growing up and I remember it coming in handy a lot!
I think I made it seem as though Graysen don't do anything but play, which isn't true, she does help wipe, unload the dishwasher, put away shoes, etc. Generally she just doesn't get a job all to herself...she's everyone's helper. :0)
I would love to write about this, but my perspective would probably hurt my mom's feelings, so I'm hiding out here in your blog comments and will tell you my opinion! ;)
My mom never made me do anything. No exaggeration. Nothing. I believe this has affected me as an adult. I don't think I'm lazy...or maybe I am...but I do know I take advantage of Josh's hard work ethic (he had to do everything for himself growing up, even his own laundry). So in short, I guess I'm saying make them do things. Even if it's just putting dirty clothes in the basket, putting dishes in the sink, putting away a toy or two. We want to encourage or kids to do things for themselves, and I'm sure their future spouses will appreciate it! :)
I was the youngest of five kids in our family, and probably was a little "spoiled..." or so I hear! :) lol But I do remember having some "special" jobs I enjoyed like folding the square things in the laundry basket (wash cloths, etc.), matching the socks, and a few little cleaning jobs. As I got older, I remember helping with some things like trash, feeding pets, and my own laundry. I do remember getting a small allowance when I was a school-aged child (maybe $1-2 per week), and my parents taught me to tithe part of that in church too. On a side note - a funny story about tithing is that once my mom gave me my money when we were in the car on the way to church and reminded me to save part of it for tithing......and I tore the $1 bill in half so I could give "part of it" to the offering! My brothers and sisters almost had a cow when I tore it, because they understood I had just ruined a good $1 bill! lol Oh well - at least my heart was in the right place! :)
To correct Alicia, we did NOT have a cow...we laughed our heads off...but I find that, as the youngest, she often remembers things differently.. (just kidding Alicia). I was going to post the same thing about my mom having her fold the square things etc...I have also seen three year-olds eagerly go to town with cleaning wipes or damp cloths on baseboards, dining room chairs, etc...another thing I have had my nieces and nephews do is help clear the table. Taking things used during dinner back to the fridge is a good way to help without complicated directions or risk of disaster. Thanks for letting me "lurk" along with you, Alicia pointed out your blog and I have enjoyed your candor and openness in sharing your heart.
Carrie - thanks for commenting! I always love knowing who is reading these writings of mine. You're right, I do it to share my heart, so thanks for letting me share!! :0) I think you're also right about the youngest (sorry Alicia), my sister also remembers things differently! ha ha
We've just started having "regular" chores. Most of what I have the boys do are more likely standard maintenance: put clothes in the clothes basket when you take them off, hang up your coat when you come in the door, take your dishes to the counter when you're finished eating. We're starting small. :)
They also have 2 specific jobs: unloading all silverware (minus knives) and plastic things from the dishwasher (they can't reach anything else to put it away) and picking up the playroom/their bedroom. Hayden has also dusted, but it's one of those things I hate, so we never do it, lol!
Also, I pretty much clean the rest of the house, but I make hubby clean the showers... he's so much stronger, and it's so much easier for him! He can accomplish in 5 minutes what would take me 30 minutes of scrubbing.
And obviously (being Lincoln's sister), I am in favor of chores! (and making sure that the youngest eventually gets their share... ask Lincoln about Evan emptying the trash... his entire life! because he never graduated to "big enough" to help with the hard stuff. Of course, Evan would say he paid for it when the rest of us were gone, but then, Mom had a cleaning lady by then, lol!)
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