Children and chores

tea_lover

I wish my MIL had taken this completely sensible approach with my OH, instead of always doing everything for him. He's now 40, and genuinely struggles to get his head around the fact that housework is not my job that he occasionally helps with.

Dreaming_always

Tea lover - I think exactly the same about house work and my partner!

Threebabes

Good for you.

My 3 are bone idle, they have to keep their rooms clean, beds made. One has to empty the bathroom bin and the other takes the recycling out. You would think I had asked them to clean the full house, all the ironing, and cook for a fortnight!

sweetsheep84

DS is 4. He makes his bed, puts his rubbish in bin, tidies up his toys when he finishes playing and takes his plates to kitchen. It is not a chore. It is teaching my child to be responsible for himself and look after himself so no one picks up after him.

He also helps out when i ask him to hang laundry with mummy. He has already asled me to teach him how to cook!!

So in a way, I am glad he kinda gets that it is a lot of work running a house and I pray he stays like this for the rest of his life lol.

aliasojo

heretolearn wrote: »

sounds perfectly normal to me. It's not like you've got her scrubbing the toilets.

Erm......what age is child toilet scrubbing deemed acceptable? :rotfl:

skintchick

My DD is 3.5 and has just learned how to put her dishes in the dishwasher. She dresses herself, opens her own curtains, tidies her toys and books and wipes up spills.

Why on earth wouldn't you teach them to do these things? It does them no favours not to teach them life skills.

lady1964

When my eldest DD was 2/3 years old, we lived overseas and had a housegirl who did almost all the housework. We had a playroom and dd's had their own rooms. I banned our housegirl from tidying the toys away in the bedrooms and playroom as I reasoned that if they are old enough to take the toys out of the toybox, they are old enough to put them away!

That said, eldest dd is now 24 and can be so lazy and at times seems to do bu**er all! For instance, last night she was standing right by the dishwasher when it beeped 'finished' but she just walked away and went to her room :mad:

I haven't cleaned/tidied or changed their beds for years - they are all old enough to do that for themselves, they can iron, cook and clean, they just don't always want to....

OP, I think you are doing a fine job, ignore your friend and continue doing what you do.

Abbafan1972

My kids are 8 and 11 and they are expected to clean up after themselves, ie put things in the bin, put their dirty laundry in the basket. My youngest is more hands on tbh and will put her clean clothes away and help with dusting. I don't think you are expecting too much at all!

jayII

aliasojo wrote: »

Erm......what age is child toilet scrubbing deemed acceptable? :rotfl:

My daughter has been cleaning the bath and sink from the age of 5. Does that count?


She loved the suds the Stardrops made, I don't think the bathroom has ever been so clean. :rotfl: Sadly, she lost interest a few years later.

OP, I don't consider picking up after themselves to be chores, it's just part of living in a normal (not super rich) life.

**professor~yaffle**

aliasojo wrote: »

Erm......what age is child toilet scrubbing deemed acceptable? :rotfl:

I'm not sure, but little ones ought not to be using bleach :eek:

OP has two girls, I wonder if she'd have the same success in getting the kids to help with housework if she had 2 boisterous little boys?