What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

DS is 7 and we're noticing he's extremely entitled and lazy. Everything gets handed to him, he does NOTHING at all, expects everything for others, never says thank you (even though we have tried to instill this in him since he could talk), and makes messes constantly and never even attempts to clean them up. We're fairly strict in our house, but ExH is not nearly as strict. I get that he's only 7, but the blatant attitude and demands he makes are just getting to a point of unacceptable and I can see this becoming a big problem in the future if we don't do something now.

We've decided that in order to teach him about responsibility and EARNING things, we're going to create a chore list. In order for him to earn screen time (time watching TV or on his Ipad) each day, he needs to first complete all his chores. By 7 years old I was helping out a lot in my house, and a lot was expected of me. DS though....he's not only not coordinated, but he's sloppy and accident prone, so I cant have him do things like empty the dishwasher or even wipe down the kitchen table - we would end up with broken dishes and crumbs all over the floors. Even if I teach him the correct way, I can guarantee within a week he'd be back to just wiping the crumbs right onto the floor. He just lacks focus to do it right.

I'm curious what chores other parents have their children do each week. I was thinking Dust Your Room, Collect trash from all the trash cans in the house, make his bed. What else am I missing?

Message edited 8/22/2016 12:00:20 PM.

Re: What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

My DS is 5.5, in addition to making his bed
He vacuums, swiffer, sets the table, put dishes in the sink (usually just his own), water the plants, feed the dog (when we had the dog). I have taught him how to fold, so sometimes he does it, or I will have him put away is own clothes after I fold them. He likes to put the garbage bag in the garbage can after we removed it when it was full.

I also found a lot of Ideas on pintrest such as this chart.

Chores by Age

HTH

What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

Just turned 8 today , so lets say 7

Fold clothes
Put away her clothes
Sort her clothes for donation
feed the cats
Clean up cat throw up
Clean the dishes
Set the table
Clear the table
pick up
Brush her hair
Give her own baths with hair
sweep
mop
vacuum
pull weeds
pull the trash out from all the smaller cans in the house
Push the kitchen trash to the back door for daddy
Sort all the recycle and take trips to the garage to put out the recycle
She's expected to keep her sink clean of toothpaste (pet peeve of mine), soap and mess.

Um...what can't she do? It's her house her legs ain't broken, her arms work fine as does her fingers and muscles. Can't find something? clean up your damned room until you can. Trip over an item, clear up until it's not longer an issue.

Oh, I'm sorry ...Did you say you were BORED? oh no sweetie.. no one is ever bored in this house. Not while there's crap to be cleaned. Hop to it bunny. :)

Oh and no.. no chore is paid for with money. That's not how it works in my house. You don't clean to get paid. You clean cause it's dirty. You are expected to clean. You live here free, consider that payment.


ETA: this probably explains why my house is a mess! "but mom, I'm reading" or "but can you help me with math" and ta-da no chores. sneaky smart brat. LOL

Message edited 8/22/2016 12:27:53 PM.

What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

Thanks for posting.

My son will be 7 in December and needs to have some constant chores as well. He does small tasks (usually because he wants something at the end) but, he doesn't have consistent chores. His 4.5 year old brother is a lot more helpful (and capable) since he pays more attention to things.

Re: What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

She's 6 and if I ask her to clean up her room, make her bed, or pick up her toys in her play room, she will do it (sometimes eagerly, sometimes grudgingly).
She often will ask to help if I am cleaning and will dust if I let her.

She enjoys feeding the cats too but I don't want her opening cans so she basically will carry the bowls to them..

But she has no set chores.

Message edited 8/22/2016 2:03:41 PM.

Re: What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

Posted by Xelindrya

Just turned 8 today , so lets say 7

Fold clothes
Put away her clothes
Sort her clothes for donation
feed the cats
Clean up cat throw up
Clean the dishes
Set the table
Clear the table
pick up
Brush her hair
Give her own baths with hair
sweep
mop
vacuum
pull weeds
pull the trash out from all the smaller cans in the house
Push the kitchen trash to the back door for daddy
Sort all the recycle and take trips to the garage to put out the recycle
She's expected to keep her sink clean of toothpaste (pet peeve of mine), soap and mess.

Um...what can't she do? It's her house her legs ain't broken, her arms work fine as does her fingers and muscles. Can't find something? clean up your damned room until you can. Trip over an item, clear up until it's not longer an issue.

Oh, I'm sorry ...Did you say you were BORED? oh no sweetie.. no one is ever bored in this house. Not while there's crap to be cleaned. Hop to it bunny. :)

Oh and no.. no chore is paid for with money. That's not how it works in my house. You don't clean to get paid. You clean cause it's dirty. You are expected to clean. You live here free, consider that payment.


ETA: this probably explains why my house is a mess! "but mom, I'm reading" or "but can you help me with math" and ta-da no chores. sneaky smart brat. LOL

Message edited 8/22/2016 1:21:20 PM.

Re: What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

My 7 year old is going to be 8 in a couple weeks. He isn't consistent about doing things (and honestly I am not consistent about following through) but will do it if I ask (a few times). But, he does have to help out a lot, because my husband works nights and its just me and the boys (7 and 2)at night. He cleans his room and puts his laundry away. He picks his clothes up (from laying all over my house). He cleans my mud room (straightens up shoes) and the living room of toys. He sets the table before dinner and clears the table after dinner. He puts away silverware from dishwasher. He loves washing dishes and putting them in the dishwasher (but I don't love him to because they are a mess). He occasionally helps me fold laundry. Again, if I ask, he will eventually do it (sometimes with me threatening to take away something) and doesn't do a lot of these things on his own.

Re: What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

Not between 6-8, but at that age they really only cleaned their rooms. My son is a teenager and has to unload the dishwasher, and sometimes takes the garbage out if I ask. He cleans his room.

My daughter is 9 and cleans her room, and will straighten up the shoes or dust if I ask.

I'm lenient on the chores. I'm home all day and clean the house myself. Growing up we had to clean the entire house every single day (my sisters and I) from a very early age on until we moved out of the home. I said I wouldn't do that to my kids.

Message edited 8/22/2016 1:36:34 PM.

Re: What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

My almost 8 yo and 6 yo do nothing. It's more effort to get them to do something right, without breaking something. Not worth the effort for us. When they are older we will address. They do get their own drinks and snacks though. Come to think of it, I never had chores and neither did DH. Seems wrong to make kids clean and that's probably why

Message edited 8/22/2016 1:40:09 PM.

What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

My DD is 5. She cleans her room, cleans her playroom, makes her bed, feeds the dog, sets the table, puts her dirty dishes in the sink, helps me fold laundry, puts away her clean laundry, helps me put groceries away. I'm OCD about cleaning, so I do all the vacuuming, dusting and moping myself.

What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

My dd is only 2.5 but she has responsibilities in the house- She is expected to clear her plate after meals, put her dirty clothes into the hamper, clean up her toys (DH or I generally help) and help feed our pets. She has a few small plants that she asked me to buy for her and it is her job to check them and ask me to water them. I also have her help me put away the groceries and sort the laundry. She does not get any reward or incentive to help out in the house. My DH and I both grew up in homes where we were always expected to take part in chores--it was second nature to have dd help us.

What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

DS is going to be 6 in a few weeks.

He has to put his clothes in the hamper
Put his dirty dishes in the sink
Put any toys he takes out back where he found them, or I will put them away in the garbage.
Throw away any garbage they have i.e. snack wrappings or juice boxes.

I plan on teaching him to help me dust so he can start helping me what that.

DD is 2.5 and we make her put her clothes in the hamper and throw away her garbage.

They do not get paid - maybe as they get older, but right now I'm more concerned with teaching them how to not be lazy and expect things get done for them.

Anything more than this is not going to get done to my liking so I don't bother with having them try to help with vacuuming or mopping or cleaning the liter box (this last one I would never let them do at this age, too worried about them not washing their hands properly and getting sick).

Message edited 8/22/2016 3:29:53 PM.

Re: What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

Posted by HomeIsWithU

Posted by Xelindrya

Can I borrow your daughter to clean my house ??

That's frickin AMAZING. My DS wouldnt be able to do HALF of those things. And if he did them, they would end up making more of a mess than cleaning it.

I was brought up the same way as your DD. By 7 or 8 I was dusting, cleaning the bathroom, setting and cleaning off the table every night, helping my mom put away groceries, making my bed and cleaning my room, etc. And we did not get allowance. Our "allowance" was that we were "allowed" to continue to live under my dad's roof if we did our chores each week BUt you know what? It taught me respect and responsibility. My DS lacks BOTH of those traits right now. Its killing me. It's just very hard because we try to do things to instill those things in him, but with living as his dad's house half the time, it just all goes out the window. His step mother actually said to me "well, at this age, they need to be reminded or coaxed to say thank-you and please" I wanted to smack her. I was like "umm no! at 2 or 3 they need to be reminded to say please and thank you. Not at 7. I have been teaching him since he was able to talk to always say thank you and he STILL doesnt do it. That's called not having manners." So you can see the differences in expectations between the two households...

Message edited 8/22/2016 5:50:48 PM.

Re: What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

DD is 4 & DS is 6 and are expected to do things...
Clear plate after a meal (scrape & put in dishwasher)
Empty dishwasher (put items under correct cabinets)
Vacuum (including put it back neatly) after messy meals (usually rice)
Put back empty garbage can
Make bed
Put folded clothes in drawers... I fold, they put away
Put away toys (daily) in bins/place

Even if you have to repeat a task after them, it's important for them to contribute.

What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

My DS is 2.5 and helps me do pretty much everything around the house. When I sweep or vacuum, he does the same thing. He helps unload the dishwasher. He helps put away groceries. He cleans up his toys. He helps with with the laundry. He "helps" me cook.

Re: What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

Studying is the kids' job. They earn games and additional screen time after they study.

They have to pick up their toys, tidy up their room, clean up before friends come over, put laundry in the hamper and clear the table.

Sometimes they help me with laundry. This is the only thing they get paid for. They have a star reward chart and they get a $1 star if they fold the laundry.

Re: What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

None

Re: What kinds of chores does your 6 - 8 year old do?

Posted by Lara&Aidansmommy

None