Parenting..chores

Yes, your children should be doing chores. I recently saw a clip of the Oprah show that a friend sent me...it was about a mother who was working full time and her struggle with the HUGE job of doing the laundry. She had a husband and 3 boys...2 college age and one in high school. I watched in total amazement as they brought in a "specialist" to show her how to get a "handle" on the problem. Things like....special baskets so the boys can sort their own laundry....stain stick on the outside of the basket so they can pretreat.....they showed her how to hang her clothes to save time....they put her on a schedule to help her...SERIOUSLY!!!!! I sat with my jaw dropped.....ALL my kids do their own laundry!!!!!!!! Luke is 8 and he is still in the training process so I help him...which means I oversee what he is doing....but the rest of the kids do this all by themselves...that's a novel idea!

I have a chore chart on my fridge divided into days of the week. Each child has a column for each day. Each morning after breakfast they are required to do their chores. It takes them about 15 minutes except for the day that they have to do their laundry and on Saturday they all have a few more chores and it takes them each about 25 min. Remember the last parenting blog about getting your kids in bed early enough to get a good night sleep......well here is where it will show...you can't give them such a small amount of time to get ready in the AM that they don't have time to get this done.

Your children should NOT complain about doing their work...I will deal with this more in another blog.

We do not pay our kids for chores...it is just what you do! I have an "extra" chore basket. I basically go around the house and find those "extra" things that I want done...write them on a card and assign a price that I am willing to pay...they may choose as many as they like to earn extra money. An example..... Clean the ceiling fan in living room(this doesn't require a ladder in my house) including removing the glass light fixtures...washing and reattaching..$3.00

If your kids have never been required to do chores....there will be a season of teaching and training. You can't expect perfection but you can expect them to do a good job or they will have to do it again. But you can't expect to show them once and they know how to do it right.

Below is the list of chores that my kids do....remember they are divided up into daily parts but it will give you an idea of how we do things here.

All children are required to make their beds each morning and pick up their rooms. Each child is given a different day of the week to do laundry and they are required to strip their bed and wash their sheets on this day as well....I help my youngest 2 put the sheets back on their beds. I change the chores about every 3 months so they are not doing the same thing over and over. They all have one night to help in the kitchen...this includes chopping, cooking, setting the table. The first chore listed is a daily chore...whe rest are spread out over the week.

Lindsey 17 Sweep floor in kitchen and dining room daily, including shaking rugs..daily, unload dishwasher, wipe down laundry area, clean girls shower, mop floor in girls bathroom, kitchen help, vacuum downstairs, dust living room

Marshall 14 Empty all house trash cans..daily, un-load dishwasher, kitchen trash, wash clothes, vacuum living room and stairs, clean boys shower and mop boys bathroom (Marshall's schedule is lighter because he cuts the grass once a week.

Emily 13 Wipe down sink and potty girls bathroom daily, wipe down stove and microwave, vacuum living room and stairs, un-load dishwasher, wash clothes, kitchen trash, sweep stairs and vacuum downstairs, dust dinning room, kitchen help

Benjamin 10 Wipe down boys toilet daily, kitchen trash, un-load dishwasher, water plants, shake rugs and sweep boys bathroom, clean all computer and tv screens, wash clothes, sweep back deck help weed eat and blow the yard, kitchen help

Luke 8 Boys sink and mirror daily, kitchen trash wash clothes,un-load dishwasher, kitchen help, sweep front porch and shake rug, move all chairs &wipe down, mop kitchen,

After each meal everyone pitches in and wipes tables and counters, loads dishwasher, washes and dries dishes, sweep

Before bed we all have a tidy to take "stuff" that accumulates throughout the day back to its proper place :)

Chores

While this may seem like a "no brainer" to some, I am continually surprised at the number of families who do not have their children doing chores. My children do chores from the time they are 2 and some even before that. Of course a 2 year old isn't really "doing" anything but it is great training ground for later. At that age they help me put away their clothes, transfer wet clothes to the dryer, wipe down chairs or cabinets etc... I write up a schedule of all their weekly jobs and post it on our refrigerator. (I change things up usually every 9 months or so) Each child has a kitchen job every day and each child has to make up their bed and straighten their room everyday. Each of my kids has one day a week that they are "kitchen help" and they love this! That child helps me wash, chop, stir, bake and serve dinner. We spend time together and I can easily teach them all kinds of things from kitchen safety to nutritional information.

My kids also wash their own clothes...even their bed linens! I help my two youngest..6 & 8 but the other 3 totally do their own. I do all towels separately and I am not super picky about them separating things..most of my boys clothes are play clothes and my girls have been taught how to separate and hang dry certain items. I recently did a workshop and a mom told me that her concern was her kids might not do well at separating their clothes. You might have a bigger problem than you think if your kids can't tell lights from darks. In all seriousness...your kids are capable of more than you think!

You can't just make up a list and expect them to start...you have to start by training them...let them help you a few times on a particular task then you help them and then you observe them. It takes a little time at first but the payoff is huge! During the week my kids chores are light because of school work (about 20 min worth...10 for my youngest) and on Friday and Saturday they have more ( about 45 min. .....20 for little guys) I am going to put the chores listed for my 10 year old so that you can get some ideas.

*Mon. Straighten room, wipe kitchen table and chairs, water plants
*Tues. Straighten room, unload dishwasher, vacuum living room
*Wed. Straighten room, sweep kitchen, wipe off stove top, kitchen help
*Thur. Straighten room, wipe kitchen table and counters, laundry(her own)
*Friday straighten room, clean girls sink & mirror, dust 1/2 of living room, sweep kitchen, wipe table and counters in kitchen
*Sat. straighten room, vacuum room and school room, sweep hall downstairs, trash downstairs, move and wipe kitchen chairs, mop dining room, unload dishwasher.

I hope that this helps! Love those babies! Michele