How do you handle chores?

[mamakelly]

I'm struggling with my kids chores. They have to do the usual, make bed, keep your room clean, brush teeth stuff...The only other "assigned" chores they have is dinner dishes (16yo), set table (11yo), and clear table (13yo). They usually help me for about 20 min per day clean up whatever I ask them to clean. The hard part is my 16 year old is in school, and I don't feel like he does his fair share, since by the time he gets home from school everything is usually done. How does everyone else handle chores?

[rgrin]

I clean by zones, with a different zone or area each day. My boys help me for about 20 minutes each day on the zone, doing easier stuff and giving me time to get to the harder stuff. I save one chore from each zone for DH to do that evening. It's usually a chore that applies directly toward him or is a bit too difficult for me, like carrying a heavy box to the garage or putting his DVDs away after he took them all out in search of THE one he had to have. You can plan ahead and set aside a chore or two for your son to do when he gets home, though I'd keep it to 20 minutes or so, since that's what your other DC are doing. Or, you can have him get a head start on whatever you are planning on tackling the next day! Just some ideas.

[Joshin]

The entire family does their weekly cleaning chores together on Sunday morning. Daily chores are done at the appropriate time (such as setting the table) or when the person it's assigned to has time that day. Right now my older son has more chores than his younger brother, but I expect that to change in coming years when he has more outside the home responsibilities and possibly a part time job.

[regentrude]

Aside from being responsible for their own rooms and bathrooms, the kids help as needed and as they are available.

If DD is gone a lot for her classes and has more challenging school work, I ask DS to do more.

I do not see this as unfair, since he has more free time - the same way I have more free time than DH because I work only part time, so I do more in the household than he does.

DD loves to cook and will often volunteers to prepare meals or bake when she has time; this more than makes up for whatever her brother has to help more during the week.

 

ETA: I have never seen household chores as a big deal; somehow *I* don't spend a lot of time myself. Not sure why that is, it's always clean and company ready - but I would have no use for scheduled 'cleaning times" or "chore times".

[Heidi]

I made a chore chart and laminated it and put it on the fridge. Everyone has a list of chores to do every day. I check them off when they're done. They get paid per chore at the end of the week.

[Joker]

Oldest is in school and is very busy right now. I require her to pick up after herself and that's pretty much it. I also only require youngest to pick up after herself. It seems like more than enough to me but there are only four of us and we have a small house.

 

They take care of their rooms, their laundry, and clean their bathroom. These things can be done on the weekend. I've had no trouble finding the time for them to do this and oldest has school, homework, Honor society, band, and one other extra curricular activity this year (as well as time with friends/sleepovers). They know how to do dishes, cook, dust, vacuum, and all the other chores because they help out with those randomly and in the summer. They're just not regulary scheduled. It works well for us.

[DragonFaerie]

My kiddos are pretty close in age so they do about the same amount of work around here. DD is in public school, so I adjusted her schedule accordingly, but she still does chores. I have a checklist for each kid that I put on the fridge. School comes first, then chores get done. The floor gets swiffered twice a week (once per kid), ditto emptying the small trash cans, sweeping the stairs, and vacuuming the mudroom. In addition to that, they each have their own pet-related chores (DS cleans the littler boxes and DD cleans the bunny cage and playpen; both keep the pets fed and watered). I also put DD's clarinet practice on her chore chart to help her remember to do it, and homework and finishing schoolwork are also listed for both kids each day. Lastly, the chore list has blank lines where I can write in whatever else they might need to do (dishwasher and their laundry come to mind). I have a rewards system, too, to encourage them to get their chores done in a timely manner and with a good attitude.

[Freckles]

I try to divide up chores equally, but sometimes it's assigned to the kid who walked into the room when I noticed something needed to be done. Both girls do the dishes everynight unless they have an extreme amount of homework. They each have to keep their rooms picked up. Beds don't have to be made. It's just not a big deal to me. I've divided the house into 3 sections for dusting and vacuuming and assigned one section to each of us. We live in dh grandparents home. It's almost 4000 sq ft. It's very challenging for me to keep clean by myself. Bathrooms should stay tidy and deep cleaned once a week. Yesterday I had to remind Pippi that if she didn't take care of her bathroom, she would lose the priviledge of having her own. I clean 3 bathrooms, and they take care of their own. We have 5 bathrooms and 4 of them have tubs. They take turns taking out the trash and recycling. Every evening before bed I do a quick walk through and pick up random belongings and deliver them to the doors of their owners. My house isn't spotless, but usually I could have company drop by and not be embarrassed. They get 5 dollars a week. They think I'm cheap; I think they are lucky they get that much. My biggest challenge is our office. It seems to be the dumping ground of mail, craft supplies, and coupons.

[Joker]

It's interesting reading some of the replies because there are several things listed as chores that I don't think of as chores. For instance, taking in and helping with groceries, doing school work, and helping take care of our animals is just something we all do. They also take care of their own dishes through out the day. I don't even have to ask. So, I guess they do more than I originally said but none of us here consider those things actual chores.

[DragonFaerie]

I put feeding the pets on the chore list to help the kids remember to do it. We have cats and a rabbit, and they don't necessarily need to be fed every day. Their food bowls and water bowls get filled up as needed, but the kids do need to remember to check every day to make sure nobody is running low.

[Kalmia]

When I was growing up and helping on my neighbors farm I thought feeding and caring for the animals was the definition of "chores." My parents never used the word chores for any household tasks, but my neighbor would call me up and ask if I'd like to come down and help her with chores. Anyway, I wish we had a farm or neighbors with a farm looking for a little help, because those chores certainly developed my work ethic better than sweeping or doing dishes at home ever did!

[DragonFaerie]

I have a friend who manages a horse boarding stable. She invited my teenage stepson to work for her for a few weeks over the summer. What DS learned was that the did NOT want to work on a farm for a living. LOL... he made it about three weeks and was done! The good news is that it totally helped his work ethic, and he's now held a job at Chick-fil-a for about a year and a half. Yay!

[Hoot]

DS13 has 3 rooms that he is solely responsible for: bedroom, studio, and bathroom. As for other "chores" though, he doesn't really have a list of things to do. Instead, when it's time to do the quick clean everyday I give him tasks that need to be done at the time: vacuuming, emptying the dishwasher, taking out the trash etc. He does typically cycle the laundry every week, though and I fold and iron it. While we have several animals, the only one he is completely responsible for is his kitten. All the others are mine.

[Guest]

My 15yo who is in school does most of her jobs on the weekend. She has daily jobs like you said, but on the weekend, she has an assortment, usually 5 or 6 jobs, such as clean her bathroom or the powder room, sweep and mop a room, vacuum one level, dust a "zone" or help with laundry.

[Joyofsixreboot]

Absolutely no system. I just expect what needs done to be done or I tell the first kid I see to do it. I don't worry about fair. It'll all even out I figure and if it doesn't "Life'snot fair."

[Katy]

They're responsible for their own space and hygiene, but other than that DH insists on no assigned chores. He comes from such a pitch in and help family that he says it's important for us all to do whatever needs to be done at any time. So far it seems to be working okay, it helps that he often works 12 hours a day and then comes home and does more work. It's a good example for the kids and so far not much whining about it.