Mine are responsible for:

Both (Weekly) - doggy-doody (take turns), clean up their rooms.

9yo (Weekly) - waters trees, dusts living room.

12 yo (As Needed) - empties and puts aways dishes from dishwasher, waters lawn, gets his own lunch (most of the time!) and cleans up. He also cleans their bathroom weekly.

Both - make their beds, fold their own laundry, get their own breakfast and put dishes in the sink

If either one of them says they are 'bored' or complains about their jobs, their lists just grow and grow and grow..........................


What do your kids do to help you out around the house?????? By the way, I know that kids are different; age, maturity, ability, etc. I'm really just curious about how other people's households run (can you tell?). Thanks to those who respond.

Ds Daily empties the dishwasher and puts dishes away, Cleans off the table and gets food off floor (what falls when we eat). cleans up his room and gets his stuff out of living room and rec room.

Dd daily empties silverware and puts away from dishwasher, pushes up the chairs, cleans up her room, and gets her stuff out of the living room and rec room. here lately she has been wanting to WASH everything, she takes a spray bottle and washcloth everywhere, she cleans the stools, windows, doors, ETC.

They both put away their own clothes.

Forgot to add that DS has some tree's and pants outside that are HIS. He tends them as needed, and DD helps hubby pick tomatoes. She has her own bush of sun gold cherry tomatoes that she eats off the vine. Then she will pick some for family and in the house.

She just now asked me (with bottle and cloth in Hand) "what can I wash" so she is now washing the back door. LOL

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Your story reminds me... I used to give my kids a paint brush and water and they would 'paint' the fence in the back yard. It was especially fun for them after they had used sidewalk chalk on it! They also liked the spray bottle with the rag in the house -- mirrors, yuck *wink*. Those were the days!

Now, they love the feather duster! I have a synthetic one that is supposed to be a static duster? or something like that? It doesn't throw the dust around as much as the older ostrich feather one did. LOL.

NOT ENOUGH LOl The boys are responsible for collecting the dirty laundry from all the hampers and taking it to the laundry room ,they are resposible for putting the trash out on Tuesday and replacing the trashcans after the trash man comes ,checking the mail, removing trash from my minivan and picking up pine cones before DH cuts the grass

Mine don't do enough either. LOL.

I am a SAHM and if I don't keep busy, I go absolutely bonkers... so I keep a lot for myself and gladly go about doing them; especially outside stuff. I love yardwork.

I have an 8 year old DS and a 6 year old DD

Both: keep their bathroom counters and sinks clean (using a wipe after they brush their teeth), keeping their rooms as picked up as possible, sorting their dirty laundry into the right bins,

They both like to help me cook so we have them help with that as much as possible. If they want to set the table, they can. In a year or so we'll have DS take out the trash. Neither of them are tall enough to put away 90% of the dishes so we don't worry about that. DS normally makes his own lunch for school and he sometimes makes breakfast for himself and his sister (if they get up before us)

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Dd does as little as possible.

Ds is just a toddler so just a little from him. He likes to throw things in the trash. So we give him his diaper to throw out. Oh, and he job is shutting doors (fridge especially).

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I think this would vary by age. My two at home that help out are 14 and 15. They take turns doing kitchen. When my 16 yr old step dd is here she takes turns too. By kitchen I mean they sweep,wipe, take out trash, and unload the dishwasher. I reload because I don't like the way they do it. They also sometimes help me keep the laundry turned around. I start all loads and fold all the clothes, again so it gets done right. On weekends they help with cleaning bathrooms and vacumming. Outside they both help with cutting grass and weed eating. Everyone is resposible for their own room and pets. At home I also have a severely disabled 17 yr old and a 18 month old grandaughter. Of course they don't have chores but my grandaughter is helping with picking up toys now.

Edited first post. Oldest also cleans the bathroom weekly. He needs credit for that. He cleans the toilet!!!

I think my poor kids do too much. They are only 5 and 4 and they make their beds every day, bring their clothes to the laundry, put their dishes in the sink, and are responsible for cleaning up all of the mess they make. I am not to picky about what the playroom looks like, but the toys have to be off the floor and if they play with Pla- Doh or something they have to put everything away before getting something else out. A mess drives me NUTS.

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

OMG I work full time and so does DH and my DD (11 almost 12) and DS (nearly 8) do practically nothing. I figured more people would say this too, but I guess I'm too lax. If I ask them to do something they act like I am torturing them. I get so frustrated but I feel badly that they have to clean and yet I work my hiney off. I think I need to implement a chore list every day for them but I don't know how to start. Any ideas on how to ease them into a chore schedule? Thanks!

Here is how we do it... Maybe it will help you biobrain???

We have a check sheet that I made up and printed out on Excel for each child (this is partly because I have very poor memory). They self-monitor and check each job off as it is done. I am sure that kids who stay at home while mom and dad work would love to respectfully police one another!

Mine are not allowed to play, turn on TV, computer, or video games until they have eaten breakfast, brushed their teeth, gotten dressed, AND done their chores.

Different age children and different maturity, etc. would need a different number and difficulty of chores.

That is what we do in a nutshell. Maybe someone else can offer more.

Oldest son 11 = Mows the lawn, does his own laundry, Cleans his own room.

Middle 9 = Weed the front garden, bring his laundry to me, Cleans his own room.

Youngest= Makes the messes, Cleans her room, Trys to put laundry in a basket but misses most of the time.

My kids don't do much. But that is all my fault....I have never made them do it. I guess if I ask they will do it. But usually I just complaiin about doing it.

My girls are 9 and 7(on wednesday). They pick up their own messes, pick up their dirty dishes and cups, pick up the bathroom after their bath(dirty towel and wash cloth in the hamper, pull the shower curtain, put the bath mat on the side of the tub to dry), make their beds, help fold and put away clothes sometimes, sweep the kitchen and bathroom floors about once a week(my youngest does this), my oldest vacuums about 3 times a week and I vacuum the other days. My oldest also has to clean out her guinea pig's cage. She has to get out poop daily and once a week it's empited, washed, dried and reassembled. My girls are very good about helping with just about anything I ask of them. They will also feather dust from time to time, take out the trash occassionally. I really can't complain about all their hard work.

Even if they just start with bringing the laundry to the washing machine and pulling the covers up on the bed, that's a big help for me. I know a 4 and 5 year old can't "make a bed", but they are actaully proud of themselves when they come and tell me they did it all on their own and so am I. I know it doesn't look anything like what I wold do, but it's their best effort and that's all I can ask.


Maybe with kids that age $$ would be a good incentive to get them to help out? My MOm would make a chore list and have a $$ amount next to the chores and the more we did, the more she would pay us. Make the bed would be .25, weed a garden would be $3, wash dishes .50, etc. ( yes that was about 30 years ago)

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

here it is:
DD13: load dishwasher,clean her room and clean the bathroom,put away her clean clothes.
ds 10: do the laundry(he loves doing it),not all of it,but when I am in a pinch ,I tell him to get the whites,or whatever hamper and he knows how to do it!clean his room and empty dishwasher.put away his clothes,feed the pets.
DD5: make her bed(as welll as she can do,looks like a camel ,but heck the covers are off teh floor!), put dishes in the sink ,and help set the table.she also put her clothes away(her socks and undies!)

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By the time you make ends meet, they move the ends

NOT ENOUGH...partially its my fault sometimes its just easier for me to do it all and not get them to do anything....They are 8 and 6
They have a back playroom/den they keep clean, so a couple times a week they must pick everything up.

Oldest helps take the dog out a few times a day...now that doggy has had a recurrent bladder infection (she's being treated...) it seems while we're home she goes out just about hourly or so. Today was the first day we are "teaching" my 6 yr old to take the dog out. He did great!!

Youngest is in charge of making sure the dog has fresh water.....I have to remind him to check daily...LOL

They both will put their dirty clothes in the washer for me and help clear the kitchen table after we eat....ALSO my oldest has made sandwiches for both of them if I wa busy working on something else..

But they dont do nearly enough!! I was just telling a guy friend of mine, I better start giving them more to do, so that when they get older and marry they know how to do stuff!!

My DS (11) takes out the trash, empties the dishwasher, and takes care of the puppies when we have some. He also does little errands like turning on a/c and getting dad a soda.

We're just now getting started with dd (7). So far she helps me with dinner, sets the table, and helps me fold towels on occassion.

I'm really proud of my kids. They also straighten their rooms and make their own beds.

Oh wow, I am pretty tough on my kids.

My girls are 12 and 10 (almost 11), and my son is 7.

Girls responsibities are: clean their own rooms, kitchen (load/unload dishwasher, wipe counters), dust, clean their bathroom, work on laundry, sweep floor and put their own clothes away.

Son: clean room , put clothes away, pick up dog poop, take out trash from house to outside can and help unload dishwasher (silverware).

My DH and I both work full time. I also have a spread sheet worked up in excel and the kids get an allowance. If they do extra, they get paid extra.

We tell our kids that in order for our house to run smoothly we have to all work together.

Son(10) does trash as needed(usually daily) , puts his own laundry away and is responsible for both bathrooms weekly.
Daughter(6) cleans glass(like tv's and mirrors), her own room, and puts silverware away.

My 11 year old daughter cleans both bathroom sinks and toilets. She also mows the lawn with my hubby's supervision. It is self propelled so she basically walks behind it. She gets paid 7.00 a week for the bathrooms and 10.00 every other week for the lawns.It helps her get a bigger allowance. She also has to clean her room but that is not part of her allowance.

my 2 year old
makes his bed
puts his clothes away
sweeps
feeds the dog

4 year old
puts dog outside
makes his bed
sweeps
uses duster

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Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like. - Will Rogers

Both of mine are good helpers. If I give them a job, they are pretty good at it.

They both are responsible for making their beds and keeping their bathroom orderly.

My ds, who is 6, loves to help. He'll bring the trash out of bedrooms and bathroomsto put in the big can. He can set the table with napkins and silverware. He helps putting laundry in the washer/dryer. He checks the mail. Stuff like that.

My dd, who is 14, does alot more, but she gets money for her help. She cleans the tub, takes the trash out, sometimes she'll help dust or walk the dog, it just depends on if she wants the money. LOL

Holly

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Forgiveness is love in its most noble form. -Anonymous

We pay our kids too... please don't flame. We have so many other things that they do around here that are not listed... Also, I'll buy them things periodically and sometimes I'll do one of their chores for them as a reward for not complaining and for being good kids -- getting along with each other and so on.


12yo gets $10 a week. $1 goes immediately to charity and we subtract $1 for each job that was not done during the week.

9yo gets $5 a week. $.50 goes immediately to charity and we subtract $.50 for each job that was not done during the week. His salary will go up as he starts doing more jobs.

I have each of their Excel spreadsheets set up like an accounting bank sheet so that they can see money come and go and the running grand total is at the end of each week. It is a visual for them to see their progress and they are learning about budgeting as well. They don't see the actual cash until they buy something -- I am the bank.

By no means are we perfect but we have found a system that works for us. I'm interested to hear how other people handle this and appreciate your sharing.

i've gotten some great ideas from this thread! DS, who's 6, wants to do more chores so he can earn money for a lego set. as of now, he just takes out trash or recycles when i ask him. seems like he's old enough to start making his bed! i always thought he was too young for most chores but i think he'll do just fine!

14 yo Dishes, bundles up garbage from the cans, bathroom, start washer and dryer, his room, puts his, towels and baby brothers clothes away also loves to weedeat and mow yard he really likes the handyman type jobs around the house

9yo takes out bundled garbage, his room, washclothes, pus his and 4 yo clothes away

4yo straightens living room picks up garbage toys and stuff, takes doggy out

2yo also the offical door closer and diaper disposer


then various odd jobs, we moved here recently and boxes all over house, older boy will be helping me move a lot to basement soon

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Thanks Cuthie for the info. (And everyone else too) I'm going to implement some of these chores immediately. I normally wait until everthing is a complete mess and then force the kids to help me. I'm going to tighten the reins. Wish me luck

It's not hard to do really.... and I think that it makes the kids feel good to know that they are helping out plus it gives them something to do in the summertime! Let us know how it goes!

I have started a new chore system in the house this summer. I have a son (11) and a daughter (7). They both have a chart with 5 chores they can perform on a daily basis. Each time they do a chore they put a check mark under the day of the week & the chore. For each chore performed they earn 25 cents. Plus they have a box for extra chores done to earn additonal money. Some days are better then others...but I try to enforce that they must do at least 3 chores a day. This way they can earn their own money for spending!

For my son his chores include:
cleaning room, vaccuming livingroom & hall, cleaning their bathroom, pooper scooping for dog & picking up around the house.

For my daughter her chores include:
cleaning room, vaccuming and organizing shoe area, picking up around house, feeding the dog (2x day)

** but they can also loose money by being disrespectful...fighting with each other. So for each check mark in this area I take away 25 cents. That has really helped in how they treat each other!