weederberries Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 You've got very reasonable chore lists. Over the course of the week, some daily, some rotating: My 9 year old: makes bed and tidies room Tidies the carpeted rooms washes and dries laundry loads dishwasher wipes kitchen counters Tidies school room feeds the dog dinner vacuums upstairs vacuums downstairs tidies Dad's truck interior My 8yo: Makes bed and tidies room gathers laundry from downstairs empties trash and takes cans to street folds laundry empties dishwasher clears/wipes the table after meals Tidies tiled rooms pooper scoops (with brother) wipes bathroom surfaces (between major cleanings) tidies my car interior My 6 yo: Makes bed and tidies room empties recycle and takes to street replaces the trash bag gathers upstairs laundry tidies the hall, stairs and bathrooms tidies wood floored rooms sets the table for dinner pooper scoops dusts My neighbors ask questions in a friendly way and often try to step up their efforts based on interactions with my kids. My kids are FAR from perfect, but they have a pretty good reputation with the parents around here and I take their questions as compliments. They've never tried to belittle our choices though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 There are times when our neighborhood kids come over and when they learn that my kids can't play until chores are done, they pitch in and help. :) When dd was 8, she taught a neighbor boy how to clean the bathroom. By golly, I couldn't get her to pay attention to details for anything, but there she was, telling him how to do it right. We're people though, that introduce the neighbor kids to rogue food like PRUNES and LENTILS. Life is so fun. One of the ways we teach our kids "socialization" is by modeling how we interact with the folks next door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Oh dear, I'd probably just avoid that neighbour as much as possible. I would not get into a homeschooling/parenting discussion with them under any circumstances! FWIW - your chore list sounds fine, maybe on the light side ;) My nearly 8 year old: Folds & puts away laundry Puts laundry/powder in the machine and turns it on Cleans her room (begrudgingly!) Cooks dinner (we try for once a week but usually fortnightly - still requires supervision but she does all the work) Unloads the dishwasher General tidying (whatever I ask to be cleared) Sets the table Plays with toddler None of this is paid! Her brother (nearly 6) helps with most of this - laundry, makes salad, plays with toddler, general tidying etc. He also waters the garden and takes garbage out to the bin when I ask. I've been planning to teach them more before the next baby arrives! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 Apparently they weren't socialized very well for them to stick their noses so far up in your business! I certainly wouldn't try to justify my parenting decisions to random people, but if you feel the need to converse with them, I find reflective questioning to work fairly well on nosy nellies. "How do you feel your choice of public school assists in socializing your children?" or "What chores do your children do? Why do you feel that is more appropriate?" Your chores don't sound odd for those ages, homeschooled or not! Where else are children supposed to learn how to take care of themselves if not at home? One of my high school boyfriends literally had no idea how to start the dishwasher at the end of his senior year. I was astounded. I decided then that any future children would know how to cook, clean, do laundry, basic household chores well before it was time for them to go to college. My 9 year old unloads the dishwasher, helps with household laundry, puts away her laundry, cleans her side of the Jack-and-Jill bathroom, vacuums occasionally, sweeps, straightens the mud room, helps with dogs, helps with the baby, helps dust, helps cook, um... And she'd do all of those things if she were in school elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyCook Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 Well, I really wish we lived on a farm so my kids could really learn how to work. Of course, you can learn to work and not live on a farm, but it just seems like such a great way to teach them to work. Kids these days are so pampered. Most kids aren't expected to do much real work. I really hope my girls can find a hard working man to marry one day who isn't a lazy, video game playing couch potatoe. I think in general, parents don't expect enough so kids don't learn how to work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdrumm4448 Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 Well, I really wish we lived on a farm so my kids could really learn how to work. Of course, you can learn to work and not live on a farm, but it just seems like such a great way to teach them to work. Kids these days are so pampered. Most kids aren't expected to do much real work. I really hope my girls can find a hard working man to marry one day who isn't a lazy, video game playing couch potatoe. I think in general, parents don't expect enough so kids don't learn how to work... I agree with this so much! DH grew up on a farm and he's the hardest worker I've ever seen. So is everyone in his family. Those pigs, cows,and chickens don't feel themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 OK...the number one thing I wanna say is holy cow...look at the big gold popular star PachiSusan got!! Cooooooolllll....she's got like 65 likes! :blink: I'm gonna go like it now so there will be 66. I wanna gold star. :crying: Secondly....yeah, none of their business. Don't explain or justify. Sheesh....talk about nosey neighbors. Hmmm...I guess my 9 year old doesn't have too many chores. She makes her bed every day, sometimes washes the dishes (no dishwasher here other than me), helps tidy up the living room occasionally, sometimes sweeps, stocks the refrigerator with drinks, fills the washer sometimes, empties the dryer sometimes, folds the laundry sometimes (see....nothing real regular except for making the bed). She does like to be my helper though...but not a lot on her own. Oh...given the chance she would scrub my kitchen floor with a soapy bucket and rag every day...she loves that job. I guess it's time for me to get out the chore sticks that I made last year but never got around to using yet. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 I agree with all the others that said to tell them to mind their own business. As for chores, I'm pretty lax in the assigned chores. Daily my 3 kids must bring down any dirty dishes that are up in their room and make sure they empty their trash cans as needed brush their teeth comb their hair scoop the cat box My older two kid do their own laundry but that is because they asked if they could do it themselves. Everything else is just done if I ask them to do it, I don't assign it. I've found this works better for me because I don't get any crankiness from the chores being the same all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonFaerie Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 Well, I really wish we lived on a farm so my kids could really learn how to work. Of course, you can learn to work and not live on a farm, but it just seems like such a great way to teach them to work. Kids these days are so pampered. Most kids aren't expected to do much real work. I really hope my girls can find a hard working man to marry one day who isn't a lazy, video game playing couch potatoe. I think in general, parents don't expect enough so kids don't learn how to work... It's funny to me that you mention farm work. With my DSS (now almost 18), he had absolutely zero work ethic and an enormous sense of entitlement. So summer before last, a good friend of mine invited him to come and work at her horse boarding stables for the summer. He only lasted about four weeks before my friend (after giving him lots of chances) sent him home because he wasn't doing enough work to earn the money she was paying him. He was disappointed to lose the income, but I think he learned a valuable lesson from the experience. He learned that he does NOT want to do manual labor for a living! LOL.. But really, it had a good effect on him. He has now held a job at Chick-fil-a for over a year and a half while really trying to focus and improve his grades during his senior year of high school. I really think those few weeks at the stables turned his attitude around. He's not perfect now by any means, but he's certainly come a long way since then, and I credit hard farm labor for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PachiSusan Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 LOL - I know!!! I was shocked such a simple comment could garner me a star!!!!! OK...the number one thing I wanna say is holy cow...look at the big gold popular star PachiSusan got!! Cooooooolllll....she's got like 65 likes! :blink: I'm gonna go like it now so there will be 66. I wanna gold star. :crying: Secondly....yeah, none of their business. Don't explain or justify. Sheesh....talk about nosey neighbors. Hmmm...I guess my 9 year old doesn't have too many chores. She makes her bed every day, sometimes washes the dishes (no dishwasher here other than me), helps tidy up the living room occasionally, sometimes sweeps, stocks the refrigerator with drinks, fills the washer sometimes, empties the dryer sometimes, folds the laundry sometimes (see....nothing real regular except for making the bed). She does like to be my helper though...but not a lot on her own. Oh...given the chance she would scrub my kitchen floor with a soapy bucket and rag every day...she loves that job. I guess it's time for me to get out the chore sticks that I made last year but never got around to using yet. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 LOL - I know!!! I was shocked such a simple comment could garner me a star!!!!! I just looked and good heavens! I this the first time on the new boards someone has achieved this honor? I just loved the fact that it was direct, unambiguous, and easily combined with other phrases (like bless your heart for being so concerned) to drive home the depth of irritation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 I have not quite read all of the responses, but I agree with everyone who says don't engage her. I would be suspicious of any neighbor who feels they have the right to openly question or criticize your parenting choices and chore list. If she is anti-hsing and feels that you are not socializing your kids properly, steer clear. I would not want a surprise visit from CPS because of some neighbor's opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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