Do your kids do chores?

[jasperandchar]

I was just curious with this day and age with alot foiks and children feeling entitled to certain things or lack of helping around the house.

So here's the questions:

1. Do your kids do chores?

2. What do they do?

3. Do they get an allowance for their chores?

4. Or are chores an essential part of family living and everyone has their own daily chores that are done and nothing is expected in return such as an allowance.

[jasperandchar]

Okay, I'll start.

Everyone in our house has chores that are expected of them to make our household run smoothly - the chores are shared among 2 adults and 2 boys (9 & 11).

The boys do the following:

1. bring in a sled load of wood per day for the woodstove.
2. Bring out the recyclables (daily)
3. Bring out the garbage (every other day)
4. Wash the kitchen floor daily (small kitchen)
5. feed the dogs

They do not get an allowance for these chores, however, do make $ doing other stuff around the house when they want to make some cash.

[walkonby]

jasperandchar mine are young adults now, quite honestly they were WAY bigger helpers when they were not able to be much help....remember the toddlers statement proclaiming " I do it " in squeaky voices? I miss that.
They did do chores though, all 3 of them....both boys and my girl learned dishes, laundry, some cooking, minor lawn stuff
( small patch of faux lawn out front, gardening not my strong point ), snow shoveling and of course recycling as that became part of the new job I had to do.
Their rooms were expected to be tidy, not perfect, but during those teen years, well.....( pulling my hair out years! )
Was winning the battle and losing the war ever worth it? I still don't know, kids go through phases...but like rubber bands they do come back to what you teach originally.

No pay, never, no allowance, ever.

No one paid us to do these chores, so why do we pay you was my thinking. Either way, no one suffered here, all their needs were met, and then some, so they were not aching for a toy they could not have, or that sort of thing.

I really feel that they should have a set of jobs they are responsible to do, as a matter of learning that life is not done for them, they are a participant. Just remember too if you are a perfectionist Mom or Dad and redo their work or nitpick then the lesson is lost.
These are my nuggets of wisdom to share, lol

[Darth Penguin]

we have 3...Penguinettes 15 and 11 and lilPenguin, 8.

all 3 do thier own laundry once a week...lilP needs help getting his clothes out of the washer. The Pengiunetes help with the washing up on week-ends and holidays. lilP is till a bit too small to reach the sink and is a tad clumsy at times too.

none of them get an allowance as such...Mr P or I buy whatever they want within reason. P1 gets a small amount weekly for lunch or treats at school.

eta I don't like the idea of them usong the snow-blower or lawn mower...snow shovelling they help with if they are around. P2 is interested in cooking. Before they leave I hope the 3 of them will be able to cook something simple and nutrious, be able to do simple mending of their clothes and basic car care regardless of gender.

[jasperandchar]

thanks walkonby and Darth Peguin for sharing, it's good to know that we are raising our children to learn new tasks and be responsible for chores as well as being a positive contributor our family.

[walkonby]

bathrooms are a whole nuther kettle of fish here. The 2 living at home still put on rubber gloves, and wrap the equivalent of
" masks " over their faces, in the form of a small towel, because they say it grosses them out to touch the hairs and other dirt! lol!!!!

[itsjustmebub]

kids should absolutely do chores appropriate to their level
otherwise you are not preparing them AT ALL for the real world and that would be a huge disservice to them in the long run

[itsjustmebub]

my kids have to make their beds, the 9 yr old is just starting to do his own laundry, they put away their folded clothes, set & clear the table (one each), carry their dishes to the sink & help tidy when company is coming over.

nothing major... just enough to help the family run smoothly

[SassyAshley]

I do not have kids yet but as a child we were expected to do things around the house. I had two houses (divorced parents) At Dad's, we never really got an allowance but our parents bought us stuff for helping out. Usually if there was something big to be done after we completed our task we got a treat. Anything from the next book in the current series we reading to something we were currently into (lipstick, nail polish for the girls). To get a treat it had to be something on top of our everyday chores (making our bed, putting our dishes in the dish washer).

At my mom's (where I lived full time) I don't really remember that many chores granted my mom's mom would watch me well my mom would work and she would come over and clean our house do our laundry so that helped. As I got older I was given things to do clean the bathroom, vacuum, I never got an allowance to do so I was just told too.

[vesper]

me and my brother did all the chores while my older sister got all the allowances. Was unfair then, but now me and brother are enjoy great careers, my sister spends all day bashing people on facebook.

[thriftygranny]

Only one left at home but he is 15 and cuts the grass, shovels snow, does garbage and recycle and does the poop scooping in the back yard.
When all of our kids turn 15 they go on a budget, we sit down and figure what their yearly expenses ,including clothing, toiletries and extras such as movies , gifts etc. We pay for sports and school books fees etc.We add it up for the yearly estimate and divide by 12 months and write them a cheque every month . It is up to them to budget for things, so if he wants that $400.00 snowboarding jacket he best be thinking about putting money away for the fall. did it for all the kids and I must say all of them are excellent with their money. All made a few mistakes along the way but that is what life is about.

[Natalka]

Son helped out around the home right from when he was little - always age appropriate, of course.
When just a toddler, he'd fold washcloths and teatowels, match socks - he thought it was fun!
Then as years passed, he got added chores.

Our outlook was similar to WOB's - everyone in the family looks after the house, everyone contributes.

He never got paid for chores, but did get an allowance with no strings attached - (maybe by age eight?), which I do think kids need, just some walking around money. Mind you, he got a lot less than his friends, but he handled that pretty well.
Turned out he was a 'saver' by nature - he'd always put away most of his allowance to buy something special for himself, or for an outing with friends.

Now he's 21, is living at home, and frankly he does tons for us around the house.
When he was in high school, I remember several talks he had with me about his friends who had NO chores at home, and he told me how very glad he was that we got him to learn responsibility and do chores because he saw how his friends just didn't give a hoot about anything...

[saddlebag]

Yes our kids do chores....empty the dishwasher, fold towels, sweep, take compost, garbage and recyclables out, and anything else asked .....do they complain...hell yeah, do they get paid....nope.....they get fed, clothed and and driven wherever they need to go....also, both kids participate in cooking....I think it's important they know how to cook

[jasperandchar]

seems unfair but in the end you and your brother are better for it. Glad you enjoy your career that's so important.

me and my brother did all the chores while my older sister got all the allowances. Was unfair then, but now me and brother are enjoy great careers, my sister spends all day bashing people on facebook.

[jasperandchar]

that's fantastic, great way to educate your kids in the ways of the world and the bumps along the way.

Only one left at home but he is 15 and cuts the grass, shovels snow, does garbage and recycle and does the poop scooping in the back yard.
When all of our kids turn 15 they go on a budget, we sit down and figure what their yearly expenses ,including clothing, toiletries and extras such as movies , gifts etc. We pay for sports and school books fees etc.We add it up for the yearly estimate and divide by 12 months and write them a cheque every month . It is up to them to budget for things, so if he wants that $400.00 snowboarding jacket he best be thinking about putting money away for the fall. did it for all the kids and I must say all of them are excellent with their money. All made a few mistakes along the way but that is what life is about.