kids chores?

[lcrane]

Ok I guess I must not be a very good parent, my husband and I do not give out chores around the house, we will ask them to do something and they both do it could be anything like washing the dishes to cleaning out the gargage (15,13) even as children or pre teens we just expected them to help when we would ask them to. We do not get any aguments out of either of them my 15 year old dd is getting a jobs this summer so that she can get her truck when she gets her licence we told her that we would not buy her vechical for her that she would have to work for it we are also doing this with our 13 ds.

 

[minnierocks]

Ok I guess I must not be a very good parent, my husband and I do not give out chores around the house, we will ask them to do something and they both do it could be anything like washing the dishes to cleaning out the gargage (15,13) even as children or pre teens we just expected them to help when we would ask them to. We do not get any aguments out of either of them my 15 year old dd is getting a jobs this summer so that she can get her truck when she gets her licence we told her that we would not buy her vechical for her that she would have to work for it we are also doing this with our 13 ds.

Nope...not a bad parent...
Your children were taught early what was expected of them, it just wasn't organized into a chore chart!
Some families function better by having things posted and others don't use anything. It all goes back to doing what is best for your family!

My DS is 13 and already saving for a car. He knows that we're not buying it for him, so he saves $$ from birthdays and Christmas. We do sometimes pay him for doing big jobs that we need done, because we know he is trying so hard to save. But there are times, when we have a family project that the kids help just because it needs done. They help out because they know what is expected of them and they know it's part of being a family!

 

[StephMK]

We have 3 kids, DD13, DD6 & DS4. They have jobs they are expected to do as part of the family & the oldest gets an allowance each month. I'm going to start allowances for the younger two. I will give them $ for specific chores that are above & beyond "normal" house things. Oldest for babysiting mostly.

Savings is optional but we encourage them not to blow it. For the past few years, part of DD13 allowance has to go to charity & part to a gift fund. It's usually been $5 a month to each automatically. Then she can buy family gifts at Christmas and pick a charity, church, etc. She usually does Toys for Tots or an Angel tree gift. It's been great to see her choosing carefully & so proud of spending "her" money to donate.

DS4 is actually the best at making his bed & getting his clothes in the hamper! They also have to put their clean clothes in the right drawers, keep their floors picked up & help set the table. Oh - and they have to bring their hampers to the laundry room.

 

[eddieras]

I have never been a fan of allowances based on chores. We all work together to keep the house running. Its something you do as a family. DS sweeps, takes out trash and cleans the glass in addition to keeping his room and laundry picked up and put away.

DD dusts and sets and clears the table in addition to keeping her room cleaned and laundry put away.

We only pay for large jobs like snow shoveling, mowing, window washing and things like that.

i totally agee with you (and minnierocks). we have the same philosophy= we're a family and there are basic family things WE all need to do. big stuff/ chores we pay. we bought a reel mower last summer so our 10 year old could cut the lawn.

 

[HannaBelle]

I have a 14 yr old DS and a 9 yr old DD.

They have chores they do not get paid for...

Feeding the dogs
Scooping the dog messes from the backyard
Cleaning their own rooms
Putting away their own clothes
Picking up after themselves - rinsing dishes, laying out clothes, putting away personal possessions
Helping with the shopping/meal planning/cooking and putting groceries away (they love to help plan meals and cook...I don't think they think these are "chores")

For the other things they have a spreadsheet on the fridge that list the amount of allowance they earn for each "chore" they complete. It ranges from $.10 for taking out the trash to $10.00 for mowing the lawn. It includes cleaning the bathroom(s), dusting, unloading and reloading the dishwasher, helping with the laundry and so on. It is their responsibility to mark what they complete each day, tally the sheet each week and let me know the total that they earned. Some weeks they earn over $10 and some weeks they earn nothing. If they do not keep track of it, they do not earn it. That may seem a bit harsh, but they need to learn responsibility.

If they want to make extra money that week to buy something special, then my house is extra clean that week. I certainly am not going to stop them from cleaning!

Of course, the best laid plans for teaching earning and saving can be thwarted by Grampy and his $20 bills. (He is much better now that he has been "outed" by my kids! I could not figure out where all their money was coming from!)

 

[kinntj]

Our 4 (almost 5) year old gets an allowance and we have a list of things she is expected to do. I don't put a value on each chore or anything like that. The allowance is only used really as a financial tool of learning to save and spend. She's mainly saving for our trip next year.

Our youngest is almost 3 and she will start an allowance when she's 4. She helps dust, laundry, and help keep rooms picked up of toys.

We try to keep it relatively easy at this age and will change as necessary.

 

[TENIA66]

My kids are dd 12 almost 13, ds 7 and ds2; the chores are as follows:

DD12

feed cats
empty large trash cans to outside when full
keep backroom, kitchen floor, bathroom floor picked up
clear table

ds 7

feed and water dog daily
empty small trash cans daily
wipe table
keep living room and hall floors picked up

ds 2

nothing yet