I will never forget when my oldest kids were 2 and 3 years old and someone brought it to my attention that they thought it was awful that my 2 and 3 year old children had chores. Granted, their chores consisted of things like matching socks, putting silverware away and setting the table, but still...those were things they were responsible for. As my kids got older they graduated to higher levels of chores, at 9 and 10 they were doing laundry, dishes and mopping the floor. A few years ago, when we had to move in with my parents, we lived under a different set of rules and my children were no longer allowed to do their chores. We've had our own place now for more than a year, but despite numerous efforts of giving the kids chores again...we are still stuck in the rut of mom doing everything.
I "can" do it myself, but there are so many reasons why I shouldn't! I basically "let it go" around here because I spent more time on things that were more important (such as de-licing, schooling my children, etc.). Even still, I just don't have enough time to spend time with my family and I am treated like a slave around here.
My biggest problem is, I'm simply too picky! I don't want help because I have a certain way that I want things done. I've always had to have my house "perfect" before I could assign chores, that way everyone knows what I expect and how something should be done. I've spent the last few weeks "re-organizing" my house once again. I finally have it close enough to my expectations to begin a chore system again. Our last chore system didn't work (each child had one daily chore and one weekly chore). So, we will try a different chore system this time. Each child will now be assigned an area (Kitchen, Bathroom and Family Room). They will be in charge of their area for a month. Each area will have "Daily, Weekly and Monthly" duties.
Each child will be responsible for keeping their room clean (this will take a lot of learning to work together, since they share their room with 2 siblings) and each person will be expected to put their dirty clothes in the hamper and put their clean clothes away. Each of the big kids will be assigned a main room (Bathroom, Family Room, Kitchen) and each big kid will have a small kid helper. The daily pet chore's will be shared, but mostly will be a responsibility of the smaller kids. In each room, there is a chore checklist for that room...click below if you'd like to view or print our checklist. Once you view the checklist, you will have to hit your back button to get back to my blog.
- Bathroom Chore Checklist
- Family Room Chore Checklist
- Kitchen Chore Checklist
- Pet Chore Checklist
- Yard Chore Checklist
- Monthly Chore Checklist
Yes, even my 2 year old will have chores because believe it or not...she too will someday be all grown up. I want her to be a responsible adult and learn these life skills just the same as I want my 12 year old to! They will not get paid for their chores, it will be expected that they do their part as a family to hold our house together, so that we all have a clean and comfortable place to live! They will instead "earn" time to spend doing things that generally take them away from helping out (playing, video games, computer time, blogging, going to a friends house, etc.) and time to enjoy doing all the family things we enjoy (game night, movie night, going to the park, museums, etc.).
There are a few chores that I'm willing to pay for, these are indicated with a $ and are on the Monthly, Yard and Pet checklists. My next blog will be about teaching my children to be financially responsible and ways that my children have been and will be taught this important aspect of life!
