“How many of you have to do chores now, or had chores when they were younger?” my teacher asked in discussion of a book the class was reading.Out of the twenty four students in my class, only two hands went up. Some students went on to say that they never had to do chores, because there was always a maid to do the work for them. Others added that their parents never asked them to.
The benefits of children doing chores include letting them understand responsibility, as well as developing the habit of completing a task that has been assigned. Your children are also likely to respect how others have cleaned up after them. This is one mom’s account of her decision on whether or not to hire a maid or introduce chores to her sons.
Asking your children to complete chores is not an easy task. One method is to offer an exclusive weekly allowance only after chores were completed for that week. Another method after the routine of doing chores kicks in is to offer money after “bigger” jobs such as vacuuming, as opposed to putting dirty clothes into the laundry hamper. Younger kids are relatively easier to coax into the habit of doing chores as compared to the tweens and teens of the house (who are also admittedly busy with school work). Teaching Responsibilities and Chores features an excerpt from “Teenagers Suck: What to Do When Missed Curfews, Texting, and "Mom Can I Have the Keys?" Make You Miserable” that has tips of how to get older kids to help out around the house.
Kids’ Excuses To Get Out Of Chores decodes the meanings behind some of the excuses your child may be using to skip out on chores, as well as offers advice on how to get your child back in the working mode.
As for jobs to get started, here you can see a mom’s top ten chores for her preschoolers, including making the bed and watering the household plants. This list contains appropriate chores for kids of all ages.
