Children's chores.

[ToLiveToLaugh]

Getting my kids to pick up after themselves is like asking them to shoot up with crack! most days I just find it easier, faster and less of a uproar to do it myself! I need to stop wanting things done my way, and just aim for them to get done.

I heard a great idea on this one. Toys that don't get picked up, vanish.

My son got a bunch of dart guns. The deal is, all the darts are picked up before bedtime. If not, I get them and he has to buy them off me

As for fighting, I always annoy my kids by saying, "Fighting? Hmmm... If you're bored, I have a bunch of jobs you can do...." The fighting ends pretty quickly.

Seriously, my kids NEVER, EVER say they are bored, either. They know I will help them get unbored

My kids are very far from perfect, but they really finally know how to work. I try, but don't always manage, to make it fun. Like having races, or seeing who can get the most work done, or working towards deadlines, or having something fun to do after the work is done.

Good god. Mom? Is that you? I didn't know you were on here....

Point being, my parents held very firmly to the "don't be bored" thing. I just wanted to pop in and say that.

The other one being that even the littlest kids can handle whisks and pans, and have fun crawling around under tables to sweep stuff up. At least, I did!

 

[me&thegals]

I think moms all read from the same guidebook, although I don't recall ever reading one. Sometimes my mouth opens, and my mom starts talking. Weird.

I'll have to add that I have a really great place to raise kids. If I were my sister or SIL, I would be talking a different story. My kids have an entire farm to play on, acres of woods, animals, bugs, plants, tree forts. They have exactly zero reasons to be bored.

Gotta say, though, parenting gets even easier in the summer when I have about 100-foot rows of bean plants to be picked hanging as a threat over their heads. Hoo boy. They will have evil mother stories to tell some day

 

[ToLiveToLaugh]

My mom always says (even to this day) "If you want a good mom, get rich and hire one. I'm the one you got for free."

 

[me&thegals]

My mom always says (even to this day) "If you want a good mom, get rich and hire one. I'm the one you got for free."

That's great! I'm gonna use that one!

I usually just tell my kid a few horror stories from my childhood. So, now they may look weird at grandma, but I look pretty stinkin' gentle.

 

[abifae]

Please tell me what chores your children do and how old they are.

My kids get away with doing almost nothing at all, and it is time it comes to a stop.

THey don't have lots of free time, but when they do they argue and fight with each other. They get home from school at 3:45, and don't often have homework.

Mine are 6 and 10 years old.

late coming to the thread, but when i was a child... *grin*

my dad was a single parent so each of us kids was responsible for dinner once a week. we'd get paid/favor to do a second time a week (i had my siblings sell me their days so i got to cook more AND make money). there were three of us so it left my dad with just once a week to deal with.

we had a list of "household chores" that were required. ie: skip them and no allowance (we each got $10 a paycheck). we had a menu and chore sheet on the fridge and my dad had us sign up for our days for dinner (and what we were going to make, decided by grocery day, so we had ingredients) and the chores. he kept them even, like i didn't have the bathroom three weeks running LOL. household chores were all the basics, vacuuming, dusting, bathroom, etc. kitchen was part of cooking dinner and had to be done nightly (this included wiping stove and counters and sweeping and dishes).

extra chores we got paid for. that included washing the walls, cleaning windows from the outside, garage clean outs, etc.

that's about it. outside of getting our chores done, we were free to do whatever we wanted, pretty much. no curfews or anything.

eta: we had a bin in the basement. if anyone left toys around they went into the bin. every month or so the bin got taken to goodwill. *grin* so if you left stuff around or didn't NOTICE it was missing because you'd dropped it somewhere, it went to someone who WANTED it. i loved that rule. it was very low key. you could rescue your stuff back with no issue, and we all just scooped up junk in the living room and dumped it there instead of having to get the right person to come pick up THEIR stuff.

 

[tortoise]

Seriously, my kids NEVER, EVER say they are bored, either. They know I will help them get unbored

 

[Wildsky]

late coming to the thread, but when i was a child... *grin*

Was that last week?


Just teasing!

I managed to get my little one to load her cereal bowl, and a cup or two into the dishwasher this morning and then start it up (I had loaded the dinner stuff last night) she was very proud of herself!

I had told my son he had to wash his sisters towel, by hand because he made it dirty to get back at her... anyhoo - I showed him how to wash by hand, and left him to it, I told him he'd have to get IN the tub, stand on the one end and twist it to squeeze it out... after a bit he was darn having fun, I heard him slapping the towel making funny noises and stuff standing in the tub! (was supposed to be punishment not fun and games! ) He then took the rest of the laundry and put it in the washing machine and got that started. I hung it out this morning.

When they get home from school they can bring in the laundry (I think my son can reach high enough) and they can fold their own things and take it to their room.

 

[Aidenbaby]

Wildsky, definitely be sure to use TONS of praise when they do do what they are told. I've found it can all the difference in the world in my son's behavior.

 

[big brown horse]

Wildsky, definitely be sure to use TONS of praise when they do do what they are told. I've found it can all the difference in the world in my son's behavior.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[Sebrightmom]

My son is 3 1/2 years old. He helps me put his clothes away and clean up the house. He doesn't have set chores, but he has to help me. He loves to help me feed the animals morning and evening. I think it is very important for him to learn that he needs to help inside and outside the house.