Sooooo..... are you wondering 'when is a good time for my children to start doing chores?' If so, great minds think alike lol! In this post, I'm going to discuss my thoughts on children having chores and the reason behind it.
When we hear the word chores either you will be excited or you will cringe. I remember growing up we had chores, as early as 8 years old. I can remember doing some type of work at that age! See I'm the oldest of five children and I naturally feel like I had to do those things, but then again, I also remember every summer going to Green Bay with my aunt and uncle. There, we cleaned and still had fun! This aunt made sure the house was clean clean, like baseboards clean. I was not used to that back home, but when it was time to visit our auntie, I knew what had to be done.
Speaking of baseboards, I remember my husband telling our 11-year old that it was time to do some winter deep cleaning. She just looked like "oh okay". I sat there waiting for her to ask what's deep cleaning. When she finally asked, I found myself preparing to break into laughter, simply because our daughter does not know much about true cleaning. It may be because I do all the deep/real cleaning and didn't think to introduce that to her yet. So when she asked, he said: "You know, cleaning the baseboards, the ceiling fans, and the blinds."
Little momma said, "Umm, what are baseboards?"
Yo, I laughed like are you serious. That's when it finally clicked, okay it's time for sis to have chores. My husband couldn't believe that she didn't know what it was either. He provided her an example: "You know, the white part at the bottom of the wall? That's the baseboard."
Since then, I committed to assign our daughter with a weekly chore sheet where she can earn $5 a week. I simply created the sheet on Microsoft Excel and from there I will create up to three weeks in advance. When I created the sheet, I made it a point to look at our calendars and her calendar of events, to avoid "excuses". Also, this way she doesn't feel overwhelmed when completing chores.
My husband and I did discuss with her that we were going to start giving her chores and the reason why.
You may be wondering, Jess why did you give her chores?! Here's why:
As a momma, you don't want to wear yourself out #selfcare
Chores help kiddos learn at an early age how to be clean, take care of items, and be responsible.
Chores teach our daughter the importance of earning money and how to save money.
A chore weekly sheet teaches our daughter how to read a schedule (think ahead and when they get a gig, they'll know how to read a schedule).
Chores teach our daughter how to negotiate (Yes, if she does not complete all her chores assigned on that day, she must explain to us why she wants to do it on another day). Negotiating is a good skill to have!!!
Here's a list of chores we have her complete throughout the week:
Put up dishes
Wash dishes
Sweep/Swiffer house
Sweep stairs
Clean bedroom
Wash clothes
Fold clothes
Shred papers
Brush dog
Clean dog kennel
Even though our daughter is 11, she's expensive lol. She's very good academically and we want her to know she's not privileged at all. She still has to work to earn money and remain humble at all times. So far, it's working and it's keeping her on track!
Parents, do your children have chores? If so, how old were they when you assigned chores? Also, what chores do you have them complete? I like to hear from you, please leave a comment.
-Jess