Chores for 7 year old boy?

[verlee]

What if any chores would you give to a 7 yr old boy? Ds does currently help around the house informally. He does pick up his room and toys with reminders, He does bring his dishes to the sink. But it is very informal and mostly on his terms. I have been thinking of assigning specific and regular tasks to him that he needs to do in a timely manner. My motivation for this is that he is not grasping the idea that sometimes we have to do things we do not want to do... ie writing assignments, walking to directly to the car afterschool, getting snow clothes on... on time, ect, ect..

What jobs would you reccomend?

So far the ideas I have are...
feed/water the dog
put clean clothes away
take out garbage
load the dishwasher

He is a little too small for the vacuume, dusting ect.. I am not going to make him do all of them but I thought I would assign some and then let him choose do the others for $. What do you all think?

Thanks for your help

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I have 2 boys. They just turned 8 and 9 last month. For the past couple years they are required to do a few things. They take turns doing the chores.

1. Set the table for dinner
2. Clear the table after meals
3. empty dishwasher
4. Clean cat litter box
5. Empty garbages around the house
6. Take garbage can to the road on garbage day
7. Clean their rooms

These things don't take up much of their time. I have been thinking lately of adding more things. I think the 9 year old is ready to start cleaning the bathroom. Oh and sometimes they shovel the sidewalk and feed the cats, but not very often. In the fall they helped rake leaves.

 

[brockash]

I have a 7 year old son, and honestly, I don't think I make him do much, and to me, he really only has one chore, but I'm not sure what else to give him to do that would realistically work.

My DS cleans up any mess he makes, cleans his room, makes his bed, puts his clean clothes away (after I fold them,) clears his place and puts his dishes in the dishwasher, and his only real "chore" is the trash. He's in charge of taking all the trash out and on trash days, taking it to the bottom of the driveway. If we had a dog/cat ect., I'd absolutely include him feeding/watering it as well (I think that would be a really good chore to have, as it would have him responsible for taking care of another breathing thing.)

I'm thinking that when he turns 8 or once school is out, I may start him on unloading the dishwasher

I feel like I had more chores when I was his age, but who knows.

 

[rubato]

It depends on the type of child he is. We have tried the feed/water the dog thing, but my son isn't always good about doing it, and, that's the one job that HAS to be done. Our poor dog was food and water deprived for awhile!

With some of your other options, it kind of depends on how much of a perfectionist you are. If he puts the clothes away and half of them become unfolded, will that be an issue? Or if they're in the wrong place? Same with the dishwasher. I'm too much of a control freak. The trash is a good idea. Pretty much any type of child can handle taking the trash out. We ended up with bathrooms of all things. My son tried dusting and vacuuming, but didn't like it, so he asked if he could clean our 3 bathrooms. He doesn't clean the tubs and showers, but does a great job on the stools, sinks and mirrors. He earns $5 every time he cleans all 3. Plus, he cleans his room and clears the table. We started laundry yesterday. I taught him how to seperate, which setting for the washer, how much soap, which setting for the dryer, the dryer sheet, and the cleaning of the lint drawer. I will fold them myself (again with the control freak thing), but he did a great job. But, he's 10, so he's a little older.

Hope that helps some. Good luck. I think it's great to give them responsibilities to teach them lessons for life!

 

[cam&phoebsmom]

My son is 8. He has specific "jobs" to do in the morning, after school and evening. By doing the jobs in a timely manner he can earn tokens that are cashed in for either money (25 cents each) or TV or video game time (15 min/token).

For example afternoon jobs:
homework done-parent signs agenda book
snack
walk dog (he walks him up and down a few houses for about 10 minutes)
practice tae kwon do
"house" job-this is something to help me with housework. It might be helping empty the dishwasher, scrubbing the toilets, using the Swiffer, wiping down the table, etc.

evening jobs:
shower if needed
pajamas on
clothes in hamper
make lunch
clothes ready for next day (I have outfits matched up in his closet-he pulls one out and gets shoes/socks ready)
nothing left on bedroom floor
teeth brushed

Having a list has helped the routine a lot. It also helps that he just has a "house job" listed because what needs to be done changes. There are also some days where he gets to skip a job or two-like if he has late practice I will get his lunch ready. We discuss how our family is a team and we all have to do different things to help our team succeed.

 

[zoemurr]

does a great job vacuuming the stairs. I hate doing it and he uses the dustbuster and it usually looks very good.

I don't consider keeping room clean, showering, making own lunch etc. "chores". That is just stuff that everyone is expected to do. Same with loading the dishwasher or putting clothes away. I will pay them if I ask them to go above and beyone. My son wanted to earn some $ so I said $2 to wipe down the baseboards in the kitchen, and he was fine with that.

DD10 is going to start doing her own laundry. Mainly because she thinks that if you wear it for an hour it needs to go in the hamper.

 

[HunnyJar]

When my son was that age we had him rinse and sort all the cans and bottles for recycling.

Of course he had to tidy up his room and his "stuff" in the bathroom. Place his dishes and cups in the sink after he rinsed them, etc. We didn't have a lot of chores for him at this age.

 

[MickQuinn]

I don't consider keeping room clean, showering, making own lunch etc. "chores". That is just stuff that everyone is expected to do.



I totally agree with the previous poster on this.
DS is 7 and his chores are things he does for the benefit of the household.
His daily chores are ...
1. dust 10 items in a room (we do a different room each day.)
2. bring the returnables to the garage.
3. set the table.
4. feed the dog and cat.
5. bring kitchen trash to the garage.

Depending on the time of year, he also helps with shoveling snow or raking the yard. Today he volunteered to sand the driveway because he didn't want GGF to slip and fall. He also willingly helps with cleaning the floors with his own modfiied swiffer.

He does still have times when he balks at taking care of his own things, but he loves to work with us and feels important that he can help.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

My kids mostly have chores during the summer, during the school year they only do things as asked. I'm surprised how many have their kids take out the trash, only my 12 and 13 year olds are strong enough to lift the kitchen trash bag up into the outside trash can. Some things I've had my 5yo and 8yo do that I don't think have been mentioned are:

Wipe down bathroom counters/sinks (all 3 bathrooms).
Water plants.
We have 7 people in our family so shoes always seem to be all over the downstairs so we have "shoe patrol" where they are all picked up and put in a basket.
Take their sheets/pillowcases off and bring them to me every Sunday.
Sweep sidewalks.
Wipe off kitchen table after dinner.
Dust end tables in living room.

I also don't consider showering, homework, etc. "chores", just good habits to instill. It seems to me that paying for these things would give my child a choice as to whether or not they wanted to do it (don't do it, don't get paid) and they don't have a choice there. But if it works for the poster that does it then , my children would just choose not to get paid, lol.

 

[busyshrew]

I too, think it would depend on the definition of "chores".

My girl is turning 6, and we expect her to do some things simply because she is a member of our family and our household. The must do's are:

- help set dishes
- take her own place setting to the kitchen after each meal
- tidy up all her toys before leaving the house & before bed (we have a dog who will enthusiastically chomp her toys so she is VERY motivated to do this)
- hang up her coat, put away her boots, hat, mitts, etc.

But there are other things that are "optional" too - she doesn't have to do them, but if she does, it's appreciated.

- help fold & put away laundry
- help sweep the floor
- help with cooking
- help feed the dog
- help with gardening chores

Interestingly enough, it has never even crossed my mind to ask her to take out garbage!!!

 

[Lisha1979]

What a great post!
I have a DD who is 4 and she loves vaccuming and dusting. It's not spotless when she's done but it's better than nothing. =)
Currently she has the following as chores:
Set the table
Help fold/put up laundry (She only folds her clothes)
Pick up toys
Vaccume
Sweep (She has her own swiffer that is her size, I took out one of the poles and it's just her size so she loves it!)
Dust

These are not daily chores but I need to incorporate them into a daily routine. She's learned that if she does chores she will earn her own spending money for disney. Which she is excited about.
How does everyone pay their kids for chores? Do you have a set amount per item? Or is it a total amount?

 

[Whistle]

I have 2 boys who are pretty good about helping with the house. There are times that they have specific chores to do . . . other times they have a certain amount of time. i.e. sometimes it's unload the dishwasher, or vacuum your room . . . other times it's let's stack wood together for 15 minutes, etc.

My sons are 9 and 11- the 11 y.o. cuts grass in the summer with the riding mower (under my supervision) . . . the 9 y.o. is great about vacuuming . . . do they do it as well as an adult, no, but they are learning and are pretty good at it! They also help with putting away their clothes (I don't consider this a chore, this is just part of being responsible)

They both tend to like chores that are very quick! Some of these include: dusting windowsills (with a baby wipe), wipe down stairs banister, windex a door or mirror, "tidy" 10 items (put in their homes).

 

[kpgriswold]

My six year old takes turns with his older siblings to:

set the table
empty the dishwasher
feed the cats

EVERYONE (adults included) picks up thier own mess, puts dirty dishes in the dishwasher, puts away clean clothes, takes responsibilty for personal hygiene and helps as requested.

 

[verlee]

OP here- What a lot of great insight and ideas! Ds7 loves to help right now and will enthusiastically do almost anything I ask. I was just thinking of making it a little more regular. So he can learn the value of doing a task because it needs to get done, not because he wants to do it. ( if that makes sence) He also has been asking for an allowance for some time now (to buy himself ds games). So I think there are three levels of "tasks" in our house. (it's not as complicated as it is sounding )

1st- These are tasks that are required of any family member. Such as picking up after himself, taking plate to the sink, homework, personal hygiene, pick up room.... I do not really consider them chores and are not written down but are expected.

2nd- These are "chores" that he is assigned to help the household. I am not sure yet what these are going to be specifically. But ideas are, dusting, feed dog, load dishwasher, wipe kitchen table, helping with laundry. He would have a few of these a week. A short task that helps out. Something he has to do. These would be charted.

3rd- more involved tasks that he can choose from a list that he could earn money with. Dusting, bathrooms, helping with yard work.


I saw somewhere where a mom had popcycle sticks with jobs written on them. She made two pockets and labeled them with "done" and "undone". The kids could pick a stick out of the undone pocket, do the job and then put it in the done pocket. At the end of the week they were paid per stick.

I thought maybe that would work? But I like the token idea too. Each job could be assigned a token level and then he could trade them in for $ or game time. I may try that??

Keep the ideas coming!!

 

[cam&phoebsmom]

does a great job vacuuming the stairs. I hate doing it and he uses the dustbuster and it usually looks very good.

I don't consider keeping room clean, showering, making own lunch etc. "chores". That is just stuff that everyone is expected to do. Same with loading the dishwasher or putting clothes away. I will pay them if I ask them to go above and beyone. My son wanted to earn some $ so I said $2 to wipe down the baseboards in the kitchen, and he was fine with that.

DD10 is going to start doing her own laundry. Mainly because she thinks that if you wear it for an hour it needs to go in the hamper.

Since a few folks have brought it up i just wanted to kind of reiterate that I don't think of my son's list as chores necessarily-which is why we refer to them as his jobs.
Also-he does not get a token for each thing-he earns a token if the *list* is completed in a timely manner.

i guess we do things differently but the "house jobs" are more of the chores and I would rather just have him expect to have to do something daily rather than only have a specific task-that's what works for my family.
Many of the chores other folks have listed (vacuuming, dusting, sorting laundry, etc.) are what we consider a "house job" and it just changes daily.

For us the list of "jobs" came into play b/c I felt like I was having to give too many reminders about what I (and I guess many of you) consider to be a part of our daily routine; so instead we came up with a list he can refer to without my having to state what needed to be done before/afterschool.

And there is not a choice-he gets the token if the things are done with a good attitude and in a timely manner. They are going to get done anyway but the token is an incentive and the way he earns "electronics" time and a little extra money (his choice). There is only the option of earning up to 3 or 4 tokens a day.

 

[verlee]

Sounds like a good system Cam&Phoebsmom. I may borrow from it.

 

[cam&phoebsmom]

Sounds like a good system Cam&Phoebsmom. I may borrow from it.

it has worked so much better for us! I felt lieke a pteradactyl some days squawking at my DS to get things done, LOL.
Now i can just say "work on your list" and he is getting a lot more independent! Today not only did he get himself ready to go, but totally helped me with his little sister in the morning. We have focused not only on getting things done, but doing them more quickly than a snail's pace, LOL. For example-his morning "jobs" need to be done by 8:30. That gives him some time to read for 10-15 minutes before the bus comes which is part of his homework nightly so he has less to do in the afternoon.

 

[Nicolepa]

What jobs would you reccomend?

So far the ideas I have are...
feed/water the dog
put clean clothes away
take out garbage
load the dishwasher

He is a little too small for the vacuume, dusting ect.. I am not going to make him do all of them but I thought I would assign some and then let him choose do the others for $. What do you all think?

Thanks for your help

My 7 yo LOVES vacuuming and dusting. Those are two of his favorite chores! He also has to clean the windows, wipe down door knobs & lightswitches.

My kids both have to put their dishes in the dishwasher. My 9 yo has to take the recycling out, and to be honest before this year she would be too short to put the trashbag/recycle into the large bin we have to use.

 

[snoopy5386]

setting the table, emptying the dishwasher, taking out the trash or collecting all the trash in the house, sweeping the floor, cleaning the kitchen counter or bathroom sink/counter, bringing dirty laundry to laundry room, dust baseboards and all stuff "down low", water plants.

 

[verlee]

"I felt lieke a pteradactyl some days squawking at my DS to get things done, LOL. "


I love that word picture and I can totally relate.