Children and helping around the house.

Becles

On a daily basis my 9&7 year olds have to:

Open their curtains and make their beds.
Keep their bedrooms tidy, including hoovering and dusting.
Set the table and clear away afterwards.
Tidy up stuff from downstairs before they go to bed.
They have a washing basket in their room which all dirty clothes must go in.

They are also responsible for getting themselves washed and dressed morning and night, and I only have imput if I want them to wear something specific.

On school days, they have to get any necessary PE kits, library books etc., while I'm making their packed lunch, so we can pack their bags together. They are forgetful and still need a little help!

When they come home, they have to put things out of their bags away, and empty any scraps from their lunchboxes and leave them ready for washing up.

They also do odd jobs as and when I ask them, such as running errands to the shop/Post Office.

I've been wary of letting them wash the car after a friend asked her son to do it. He dropped the sponge then washed the car with a gritty sponge and made a right mess of the paintwork :eek:

irchy_mum

I do not pay them as in my opinion we all make the mess so we should all help clean it, plus it teaches them about responsibility, respect and i see it as part of the process of making them independent and able to look after themselves well when they leave home.

We don't give ours any pocket money as yet, we feel will probably have to when they're older to bribe them!:rolleyes:

My kids (6 &3) put their washing in the laundry bin,pick up and put toys away,keep their rooms tidy (of a fashion-but at least they try).
TBH it's just general tidying and helping out.

Jo x:A

Penny-Pincher!!

DD is 11 and she has to:

Make her bed/Open the window to air
Make sure her room is tidy/organised
Take any cups/plates downstairs
Feed her fish and dragons
Dirty washing in laundry room
Take plates out after dinner
Empty DW when I ask-maybe 4 times a week
Strip her bed on a Friday
Daily bath/shower and hang towel after

DD starts secondary school Spetember and has been told that she will be recieving 1.5hrs of HW each night:eek: I want her to become more organised and know where everything is as time will be very important when she starts and needs some order:D She will still have to do the above, but doensnt take long...honestly;)

PP
xx

dlb

I need to be tougher on them i think after reading this!! LOL
Mine are 3,8,9,+10
I do make them open curtains and blinds.
Get themselfs ready and put pjs away or to wash.
Sat`s we do their rooms together.
They pack their own school bags ( i check this or as said before they would go without stuff they need!)
Eldest runs baths for himself, then runs one for the next in.

Other than that they do ask to help with the gardening and cooking but they lose interest after 10mins!!

They dont have spending money and are fine with this.They do like helping with fun stuff like making homemade gifts ect for xmas.

lynsayjane

my ex had a four year old son who used to come and stay with us. he loved helping out with everything. i soon learned to do the cleaning after he'd left tho cause it made twice as much work! i used to do baking and stuff with him, and he even helped me make soup once, tho i only let him put the veg in and stir it, there was no way in hell i was giving him a knife!

sticher

Mine are 7, 9 and 13 (all boys). It is very hard work to get them to help but I persevere and they unload the dishwasher everyday (two oldest) and youngest empties the washing machine into the basket (and the tumble drier in the winter).

They also feed the dog and the cats, put their dirty washing in/on the basket (mainly), sometimes empty the bin, eldest goes to the shop. Sometimes they tidy their room or I throw a tantrum about lack of help and get them sweeping/dusting/cleaning. Most of this is done very reluctantly.

Eldest has just decided that he will do jobs for pocket money (he always refused in the past), so has been VERY helpful this week - how long will this last I wonder?

Kazonline

It's really good to see that others have their children learning these things too. I sometimes feel a bit 'mean' because in our street the children are mostly 'waited' on. However I can honestly say that while it's a nice feeling to know that your children are helping and 'learning' I often find it gives me twice as much work as it would if I were to do it myself - and that's just when the 16 year old helps

laura1976

Does anyone want to swap their nice helpful kids with mine please? Oldest is 11 in December and has turned into a stroppy teen before her time. If I ask her to do something it's always "after this" or "when I've finished" that. Currently got 7 binbags of toys, books and general 10 year olds junk in the loft because she refused to tidy up when I was having double glazing fitters in. The idea was she'd get a bag back if the room stayed tidy for 2 days......they've been up there 3 weeks now and all she has left are clothes! I've taken the telly and freeview box out of her room, nothing works! As a last resort I got a cheap second hand mobile off ebay for £4 and a sim card for £2. Put a tenner on it for her and told her we'll keep a list of all the jobs she does and she'll earn money for each one. When she's earned £10 she can decide whether to have the cash or a top up on the phone. Any other ideas for giving her a kick up the behind greatly appreciated!

abbecer

My son are 4 and 1 and i try to involve them in age appropriate jobs ie clear toys, plates etc away. When i was growing up i had far too many chores to do and wouldn't want to inflict this on my children. But i do want to instill a sense of responsibility in them and so that they don't think that someone runs around after you all day.

My cousins son has never lifted a finger even though he's just turned 18. He has been spoilt beyond belief, i don't mean money i mean pampered. He never went to college and isn't interested in finding a job. I think been pandered to so much has made him lazy.

P.S last year i caught his mum picking sweetcorn out of his Pot Noodle because he doesn't like it!!!

Rebecca x

QueenB.

laura1976 wrote:

Does anyone want to swap their nice helpful kids with mine please? Oldest is 11 in December and has turned into a stroppy teen before her time. If I ask her to do something it's always "after this" or "when I've finished" that. Currently got 7 binbags of toys, books and general 10 year olds junk in the loft because she refused to tidy up when I was having double glazing fitters in. The idea was she'd get a bag back if the room stayed tidy for 2 days......they've been up there 3 weeks now and all she has left are clothes! I've taken the telly and freeview box out of her room, nothing works! As a last resort I got a cheap second hand mobile off ebay for £4 and a sim card for £2. Put a tenner on it for her and told her we'll keep a list of all the jobs she does and she'll earn money for each one. When she's earned £10 she can decide whether to have the cash or a top up on the phone. Any other ideas for giving her a kick up the behind greatly appreciated!

I am not sure how much more you can do. Just find something she really cares about/is interested in and use that as a means of getting her attention.

My children are just so used to doing chores that though they can sometimes grumble they do them.

My eldest is almost 14 and she HATES doing the dishes which has lead to several battles, she would sometimes do a sloppy job in the hope of me not asking her to do them anymore. But my response has always been to say that practice makes perfect and i just kept making her re-do until they where done correctly.

She is also naturally messy, as opposed to my slightly over the top clean ordered so her bedroom is another battle ground. Last year i sat her down and explained to her how stressed i get when her room is so messy that you can't even see the floor, i asked her to think about how it makes me feel and that it was not a case of me punishing her but a case of if she had enough respect for me then out of that she should keep it tidier, as her tidying caused her less stress than its mess caused me. That seems to have worked and now we have a deal i go in every morning when they are all at school, to put clothes in etc, as long as its tidy at that time i can live with it slightly messy at other times. Her punishment if it is not tidy is that i can read anything left lying around..........theory.........it must be meant for general reading if not put away. In all honesty i do not read any of the things but they do go in the bin, plus she is restricted on social time and sleepovers. But she is definitely a lot more understanding and she does try a bit harder and i acknowledge how difficult that is for her and so comprimise is the aim of the game.

Good luck