Chores – 3 Things I’ve Learned
Sometimes, I feel like a rookie even though we have 5 kids in our family. Chores are one of the subjects that brings me to my knees at times but I think maybe I’ve finally gotten a bead on them.
A couple years ago, I tried just paying the kids to do stuff – big mistake. That devolved into a negotiation on what each chore was worth. There’s nothing worse than negotiating with sub-10 year olds and I’ve done a lot of negotiating when I worked in sales!
Then, we tried giving them some nebulous chores that the kid group in general was expected to do. Well, that’s a little bit like socialism – a common goal that no one has accountability toward. That didn’t work either. Shocking.
So, now I have my 3 things I’ve learned that seem to be working well and have taken the negotiating and foot-dragging out of getting things done.
1) Give each kid a list of their own chores with specific days attached to things. For example, my daughter is responsible for feeding the dog on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. My son takes over on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Sunday goes to my youngest child so he has some responsibility too. They do not get paid for these chores. This is part of living in our house and having the privilege of being in our family. Some may agree or disagree with this but it helps them understand better the value of running a home.
2) Give them “buy –up” options. For example, if you have things that need to be done that aren’t part of the common rotation, the children can make a little bit of money for these chores. Examples – cleaning out the garage, painting the fence, helping with repairs around the house.
3) Give them chores according to their age and ability. My middle schooler mows the lawn. His 5th grade sister pulls weeds. Their four-year-old brother puts his toys away. They each have their own list that works for their age. We now revisit this list at the beginning of each school year, as a benchmark for them getting bigger and able to do different things.
So, I hope you can learn a little from my mistakes and that these tips can make your chore assignments run smoothly.
I do think chores are a great way to help kids understand the responsibility of having their own homes someday and all that goes into that – doing laundry, setting and clearing the table for meals, even planning and shopping for dinner during the week. These kinds of responsibilities help us raise healthy, prepared children for adulthood. That’s our job, isn’t it?
What chore lessons do you have to share? Please comment below.
Marijo Tinlin is the Editor in Chief of Family First, one of the oldest family-oriented websites on the internet. She writes for www.OnTheCulture.com, is the Managing Editor of www.myColoradoview.com and she runs a small business with her husband. She is also the author of the famous book about teaching patriotism to our children called “How to Raise an American Patriot, Making it Okay for Our Kids to Be Proud to Be American.” It features 13 interviews with patriotic Americans including Ed Meese, Erick Erickson and Jackie Gingrich Cushman. Your signed copy, along with a FREE copy of the Constitution, is available at www.raisinganamericanpatriot.com.