If your college student is home

[mom31257]

for part of the summer and doesn't have a job, do you require anything of them?

 

Dd took a class in a summer session, so she couldn't really get a job for the summer with being in and out. She's home now for about 5-6 weeks. She really has nothing to do. I have a bit of housework I can give her as well as some help with ds. I'm curious what other families require or ask of their college students in the summer. 

 

ETA: At this point, she doesn't have a car of her own, so she doesn't have those expenses to help with. She has a good bit of money saved up for her own spending. 

Edited July 25, 2016 by mom31257

[Pawz4me]

DS is home now (he was away for a six week study abroad program at the beginning of summer break). All he's really working on are some applications and making some contacts for potential internships (and spending lots of time at the gym!). As far as things around the house, it's just our normal requirements -- that he clean up after himself (keep his room and bathroom clean, tidy up the kitchen when he cooks something) and that he do anything else we ask. He doesn't have any set chores, but if I ask him to take the trash out, do an errand for me or mow the yard for DH then we expect him to do it w/o complaining. We've always been a "pitch in to git 'er done" kind of family, and that hasn't changed.

[Hoggirl]

Ds will be home at the end of the week for about 6 or 7 weeks before his autumn quarter starts. We are pretty much the same as Pawz4me in our expectations on a day-to-day basis. I will say, however, that since *I* have been on a major purge in our home, I am going to ask ds to do the same with his belongings as well. I have a list of about six or seven areas within his room/closet and categories of belongings that I have listed out. I'm going to let him tackle them at his own pace, but he could knock out all of it in one day if he would do it. Or he can do one a day for a week, or one a week while he is home. None of it is too major other than going through clothing and culling/organizing sheet music.

[MerryAtHope]

Yes--I usually have projects for a couple of hours per day, typically 4-5 days per week. We've always developed the culture that we all work together and help out. We've let our kids know for years that they are welcome to live here as adults--after college, they would be expected to have a job and help with household expenses (pay something for "rent."), and both before and after they would be expected to help with general upkeep. Our student is going to college locally the first two years, so it's probably easier to keep up that sense of "helping out." If a student was home for only a week or so, I wouldn't do jobs, but if you're going on 3 or more weeks, I'd have a discussion about how he/she could help out.

 

My ds was hoping to get a job but ended up with some injuries that limited his activity (he did a combination camp that involved service, some missionary outreach, and Bible Study--tons of walking etc... Good experience overall despite the injuries!). So, we've done some things around the house instead. He helped with getting our whole downstairs ready for painting (patching, scraping, sanding, taping...), and then he took dh to dh's sister's 4 hours away (dh has chemical sensitivities and couldn't be here while we painted, and since ds couldn't stand a lot for painting, that was the easiest for both. He got to swim there which helped with his rehab.) When he came back, he power-washed our house, and will be working on landscaping the next week or two (trimming bushes, edging the sidewalks, weeding etc...) He also did a big clean-out and reorganizing of his room, which really needed it.

 

DD is in high school, but she helped paint our downstairs, waters all the plants daily, also did a big room clean-out (we repainted her room as well as the downstairs--everything was in sore need of painting and repairs here!), and this week will be working on cleaning out all of the kitchen cabinets, washing them out, reorganizing etc...

 

Both also continue their weekly household jobs and help out around the house as needed.

[Nan in Mass]

We usually have some sort of construction project for ours if they are home and not working for a bit. And they generally help out with the chores, both inside and outside. Either we ask for help or they see stuff and do it when they have a minute. We don,t have any sort of arrangement. It just sort of happens. The construction projects are arranged beforehand. We,ll say, "We are going to replace the roof when you are here." And then they will spend a few weeks on the roof. They know we can,t do it without their help and they get to learn how to do something, so they aren,t unhappy about it, usually.

 

Nan

 

ETA They were not always so helpful when they were teenagers.

Edited July 26, 2016 by Nan in Mass

[elegantlion]

Well ds lives at home for school, but yes, he's had things to do. He does most of the yard work and some inside chores. He's also brushing up on his math and researching schools to apply to as a transfer student. We're also getting ready to move as is my mom, so he's been helping her a lot. We have about a month before school starts and it's going to be fairly crazy until then.

[Jenny in Florida]

I never really had to require anything of mine. This summer, we did insist that our son get a job; however, he would have been plenty busy without that. Summers have traditionally been the times when my college students had opportunities to get involved in performance stuff or do projects of their own.

 

Last summer, my son did two community theatre productions, took dance classes, taught for the summer intensive of his old dance studio and took a class at the community college. 

 

This summer, in addition to the part-time job, he's doing one community theatre production, handling our lawn care (for which we are paying him a token amount) and doing various projects in his garage workshop.

 

My daughter, too, used to do at least one show during her summers, plus work on various creative projects of her own.

[Gwen in VA]

I have had a kid live at home for a summer who did absolutely NOTHING.

 

I don't want to share the back-story of why we let the kid do this, but sometimes you need to back off and just let things be. We did. It was hard, but good things happened in the long run. The do-nothing phase was just a season.

Edited July 27, 2016 by Gwen in VA

[Mom22ns]

Mine was in a similar position as the OP, however, his summer class doesn't end until next week. He'll only have 2 weeks with nothing before going back to school. I don't require anything specific, but he is a family member so he pitches in like any other family member. All summer he has mowed our grass (we mow about an acre with a push mower) and done the chores he did before he went to college. He's always been a willing helper and that hasn't changed. :)

 

 

[MomsintheGarden]

Our ds leaves in a month.  He's helping with housework and our (very large) garden.  He's also been studying for three internal challenge exams to try to place out of the basic CS classes at his school.  He has two down, and one more to go.  That said, he has not had much down time in the last two years, so I am happy that he's having some to putter about on his own CS projects.  It's all good.

[TravelingChris]

OUr daughter is taking two college classes.  She also helps at home. She cooks dinner, she goes out on errands, etc.