Chores for Kids

[Phoebe]

What kinds of jobs do your elementary-aged children do around the house? I have a 3rd grader and a 1st grader. How about allowance?

[Ladybug]

I'm a miser. LOL. They get a quarter for making their beds each morning (a sister can grab another's quarter if she refuses to make her bed) I then offer quarters for above and beyond. Feeding J his bottle, cleaning the playroom, etc. They have school banking on thursdays and get excited about handing their quarters over for a pencil or sticker.

I like the dual allowance and chore approach. An appropriate allowance to learn how to save, set goals, etc. and a list of chores and their worth on the fridge to earn extra money. We do this loosely now, but I think the kids will be more into it as they get older and need money.

Oh, and I've been known to take quarters away for fights, etc. There's no hard policy in our house about this, but if I get mad enough I start grabbing quarters. It makes me feel better...

[Ladybug]

Maybe we should start teaching them early about taxes too... I wonder how they would vote for the family tax schedule/system vs. benefits. It would be an interesting HS study and project. Good for an election year. Yes, my kids will hate me.

[PrincessFiona]

Maybe we should start teaching them early about taxes too... I wonder how they would vote for the family tax schedule/system vs. benefits. It would be an interesting HS study and project. Good for an election year. Yes, my kids will hate me.

Hehehe. I think then we would all be raising little republicans!!!

My kids help, a lot. They pick up all toys on the first floor at the end of the day, they set / clear the table, they help with starting / switching laundry, they scoop the back yard, they feed the dogs (one boy does morning, the other nights), they are to keep their room & the family room (basement) picked up, and have to do an extra pick up the night before the cleaning lady comes, they'll also help with vacuuming, and help watch their sister when I'm busy with something else.

They get $7/week, and they lose $1 each time I have to remind them to pick their clothing up from the floor. Let's just say I don't pay the full $7 very often.

[MDPhDWife]

We don't pay an allowence anymore mostly because we cannot afford to so instead we pay the girls "stars" which they can use to buy a variety of things like time to play the wii or watch TV, have a sleepover with friends, request things a specific treat from the store, mani/pedi from mom, etc. They came up with things they wanted to include on the catalog and we came up with appropriate prices.

As for the household chores they are responsible for, they are each responsible for making their own beds, putting laundry in their hampers, keeping their rooms tidy, and putting away their laundry once I've washed and folded it. Then I made a list of chores I needed them to do (wiping tables, counters, putting away silverware from the dishwasher and setting the table, taking out the smaller trashes, crushing cans, etc.) and they each took turns picking which chores they wanted to be in charge of and it's written on a dry erase board for them. Of course they have the opportunity to earn extra stars by picking up each others chores, nothing like sibling rivalry!

They also earn stars for getting completely ready in the morning, finishing their homework, getting a 100% on the weekly spelling test, or if they get "caught being good".

We used to do a similar system with chores only we would pay a quarter a day if they completed that day's chores. We found our youngest isn't really motivated by money and the stars work better which is nice now because money is tight, but I predict once they get older money will be more important. Right now they only get money for birthdays, some holidays, and from the tooth fairy.

[diggitydot]

Our kids have chores, but no allowances.

DD1 - who turns 15 tomorrow does the dishes, wipes down the counters, takes out the kitchen garbage/recycling, occasionally throws in a load or two of laundry, cleans out the cat boxes/picks up the dog poop in the yard, picks up her bedroom once in a while, and is responsible for keeping her bathroom non-vomit inducing.

DD2 - 10, sweeps and mops the hardwoods and kitchen floors, puts away and organizes the dishes in the kitchen island, picks up her room, helps out with the downstairs bathroom and cleaning out the litter boxes/picking up the dog poop.

DS - 8, cleans his bedroom, picks up the downstairs living room, helps with the downstairs bathroom, helps with he cat boxes/dog poop, and keeps his damn Legos off my floors.

[DCJenn]

Chores, no allowance here.

He is to clear his place at every meal and put his dirty dishes in the dishwasher. He helps sort the laundry (much better at this than his father, that's for sure), load the washing machine and then he loads the dryer. I'm teaching him which stuff gets airdried (mommy's bras and exercise clothes) and what doesn't. He puts away all of the kitchen towels (because he can reach the drawer where they go) and all of his clothes except the undies and socks (again, he can't reach) He feeds the outdoor cats every morning (he can't reach the cat food thing or where the indoor kitties are fed- try to keep the cat food out of the dogs reaches). His toys are not to leave his room and he is to pick up everything once a week so that I can vacuum. What doesn't get picked up gets bagged and put on the top of my closet until I deem it time to get it back. He's a huge fan of the extending Swiffer duster so we tag team dusting (and in this house, that's a huge chore) I vacuum but his responsibility is to move everything in my way out of my way.

As for money- he's welcome to ask for extra chores to earn money but so far that hasn't been too appealling. In fact, he's pissed because I won't by him those damned silly bands but have made it clear he's welcome to earn a buck so that he can buy his own. Amazing how they're less attractive after that.

Jenn

[HouseofWool]

I never really thought about it, but Caleb (who will be 8 on Sunday) is responsible for making sure that his dirty clothes make into the appropriate basket (we used to have a laundry sorter and he actually did pretty well with that), putting away his clean clothes, helping to set and clear the table and lots of fetching for me. I NEVER seem to grab the diaper covers that are hang drying and only discover the fact that I am out when Sophie is bare bottomed. This is when having a huge age gap is a benefit. We are working on keeping his room clean, but it is a struggle because of a lack of storage space and too many toys.

Heck, I struggle to keep my room clean too.