I realize I haven’t posted a whole lot on parenting, outside the whole homeschooling thing, and I’m not quite sure what changed there as it used to be a lot of my material back in the day!
One thing though that I love to read about, is how parents parent their kids!
I want to know the family rules.
The family traditions.
What are their schedules?
What chores do the kids have to do, and do they get paid?
What do they get paid?
Do they take vitamins and what kind?
What are they going to do about dating, and what kind of a gun will they use to keep it under control?
{kidding. ish.}
I suppose I’m a bit of a nosey nelly.
It’s just that every family is SO different, and I feel there is so much, SO MUCH to be learned and I just can’t get enough!
This is why I was so excited to team up with Karen on this Vintage Homemaking Week Series!!! An entire week dedicated to these kind of issues (plus giveaways, score!), just to see how they do things both at home and with their kids.
Think of it as a week of free life coaching/mentoring!
So, all that said, I thought that maybe, perhaps there may be a a few of you out there curious as to how we do things around here as well.
It’s changed a bit, okay a lot, since we started homeschooling and I’m realizing ever so slowly (on my good days) that I kind of love the change.
And it all begins with chores!
Now that we aren’t rushing out the door every morning to school, we are able to take our time getting ourselves, our tasks, and our moods (okay, my mood) together for the day.
One of those tasks includes chores for the kids.
And by kids, I mostly mean Taylor since Chloe isn’t quite 5. (her chore list will officially begin at 5!)
With Taylor being 8 and a half, we feel he’s more than ready to take on a good amount of chores, and we honestly expect him to do them well. In fact, we tell him that if we have to go behind and finish what isn’t completed, he won’t get paid for that particular job.
This is a child definitely driven by money and praise, so this keeps him working at his best!
{you gotta discover what motivates!}
Our Chore List:
The following is what’s expected of Taylor Monday through Saturday, with Sunday being our day of rest.
~ Make bed & brush teeth
~ Clean his bathroom paying special attention to the toilet and floor around the toilet.
(what is the deal with boys and their bathrooms smelling like a homeless man lives in there???)
~ Feed Stella (our dog)
~ Pick up doggie poo
~ Empty dishwasher (this is my personal favorite!)
~ Before bed, pick up room & toys
~ And on laundry days, he has to put away all his clean clothes and hang shirts. Neatly.
Handling the money/allowance:
We don’t give an allowance, but we do pay for chores. For all the work listed above, we pay Taylor $40 a month.
(another option to figure out how much to pay is to double the childs age.)
We’re also discussing that by age 13, we’d cap the amount between $75-100, which will also go towards clothes, phone, gifts, etc. We have some time before then though, so it’s still up in the air…
Also, starting this year Taylor will be taking 10% and putting it towards an offering or tithe. We are allowing him, at this point, to choose whether it goes towards church or to help others in need. This is because we believe God honors the heart and motives behind the giving more than the actual giving, so we hope to teach him to do this with a good attitude.
In addition to tithing out of his allowance, we will also be setting aside 10% for savings. This is such a good habit to learn early that it’s best not to spend it all, and to always set some aside for emergencies or big purchases.
After talking with one my incredible friends and mentors, we have also decided that starting in September (3rd grade) he will begin being responsible to pay for half of his friends birthday gifts. I love this idea, as it teaches him to really think through purchases and actually put thought and heart into what he wants to give.
I have to say, that in this last year, Taylor has truly surprised us with his attitude and responsibility, with chores and handling money, at such a young age.
Every morning when I get up, he is already dressed and every single chore has been checked off before ever turning on the TV. (We only allow TV in the morning, as it’s my morning babysitter, due to the fact that they wake up usually before 6 am. I, on the other hand, am not a morning person. It’s truly all about priorities!)
In fact, when he was away at camp for a week this summer, it hit me just how much he really does help out and what a blessing it is to our family and home.
So, if you’ve been thinking about having your kids take on some chores, or maybe adding in some new ones, let me be the first to tell you, YES, DO IT!
And if you are already on this bandwagon, I would absolutely LOVE to hear what chores you give your kids at what ages, and even what you consider to be appropriate for their allowances. I know every family is different, and I’m always up to hear your advice and wisdom!
GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
One of my subscribers will be winning Financial Peace Junior to help set you up on on your way to the happy land of kids doing chores! (therefore allowing you to sleep in!)
See below for all the ways to enter!
Winners will be chosen and announced on Tuesday, September 3.
Our kids ages 16, 12 &8 help around the house, but it is a constant effort to do so. I am hoping to learn something that I can use in my home to help make it easier and more efficient
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I subscribe by email!
I have a 13 yr old son and 9 yr old daughter. They both have had chores for quite awhile but I haven’t figured out how to integrate an allowance into it yet. How much? Do you pay for chores that weren’t done well? Do you have to go behind them each day to see if things were actually done and done right?
They’re each responsible for their own rooms; making beds, picking up floor, putting away their laundry that I put on the bed for them, making sure everything is in its home before bed (it’s hit & miss with all of this ;).
My son takes out trash & recycling each day, empties dishwasher, fills ice trays, does his own laundry most of the time, keeps back patio picked up and swept & helps with the mowing.
My daughter empties the silverware out of the dishwasher, makes sure kitty has fresh water & dry food & keeps the food tray cleaned, fills the fridge with drinks which in our case is sprite and water bottles (we reuse our gatorade bottles since I can wash them in the dishwasher. She fills them up with water and stores them in the fridge so everyone can grab a water bottle when they need it). She wipes down the fridge and cabinet fronts as needed, cleans bathroom sink and makes sure there is toilet paper and clean hand towels out.
My goal is trying to make sure my kids have the skills they need to survive once they’re on their own. Im in hopes they’ll know how to clean, how to do laundry, how to cook some things, how to take care of what they have, etc.
Im like you, I loooove seeing what other parents do because Im always looking for better ways of going about things, saving time, being efficient, etc….
Thanks for the awesome post 😉
Sharon
We dont really have a good chore system! It is when I remember to remind the children. I have a two year old and teaching her the ups and downs of chores is off to a horrible start!
My 18 year old son gets it (chores/tidiness), my 9 year old daughter is completely lost when it comes to chores and tidiness. I have been trying everything and it is still a constant battle. I guess I just haven’t found her specific motivator. As for $, our kids don’t get paid for their “responsibilities”, however, there are jobs available that can be done for earning $. I don’t want my kids to think that $ is the reward for everything they do. I especially don’t want my daughter growing up thinking that taking care of a home comes with a paycheck. This is a false sense of reality. I want her to grow up learning to serve her family with the right heart.
Our kids are 5 & 8, we also homeschool 🙂 our chore system is they get paid .25 per chore they do, they get 4 chores that have to be done per day & if it doesn’t get done they don’t get the .25. So they have the potential to earn $6/week. They don’t always get all of it but they are learning if you don’t do the work you don’t get paid. For our 8 yr old she does these 4 daily (make bed, scoop cat litter, fold laundry & then scoop cat litter again before bed… We have 2 cats & can’t stand the smell so it gets done twice a day!). Our 5 yr olds chores are more for a younger guy & he does these 4 (make bed, feed & water the cats & dog, vacuum the kitchen & bathroom (we have a small light cordless one that’s easy for him, and lastly to pick up all the toys before bed). It works good for us!! They also have to tithe 10% but I like your idea of letting them choose how to give it!!
We have zones. They tell us what room(s) have to be completed each day. And my children (5,8,9) are responsible for washing, folding, and putting away their laundry (they work together). The zones are expected as part of the family. The laundry is paid if they finish on their day.
Love your ideas – great information.
I subscribed by email.
I’m kinda like Tammy, no real chore system. If I leave a list stuff will probably get done, but I don’t like taking the time to write it down. It seems so obvious to me… “dishes? let me check the dishwasher, it’s empty, sink’s full, I’LL FILL THE DISHWASHER!” But to tell them, “dishes, laundry, pick up your things,” they never remember UGH! As for paying them, I once heard a speaker who’s philosophy is “they’re members of the household, they need to help the household function, not be bribed.” I think she is the same speaker who give her kids a flat allowance, but if they DON’T do their household chores (make bed, dishes, vacuum etc.) they have to PAY their sibling/parent who completes the chore for them, out of their allowance. So the ambitious one could end up with both allowances. But Dave Ramsey says it teaches them the value of work to pay them for their chores. I had thought we would do the flat allowance, but about the time we should have started that my husband quit his job and all unnecessary spending came to a grinding halt – allowance falls in that category for me. Anyway, still deciding how to handle it. I don’t know if paying for chores will be a motivator for either child, and I’d by lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the hubs quitting again… it took over two years, my inheritance and me going back to work (love the OverTime!) before he found something permanent and the way he complains… oy and vey.
Oh, and when my son was two, I moved the silver ware, plates and bowls into a low drawer so he could empty the dishwasher… he LOVED it! Sorting with a purpose 🙂
We have the kids do chores around the house. They’ve been offered a chance to earn an allowance, but aren’t consistent in doing them without being reminded.
We are just starting this with our boys too. B is going into 2nd grade and we are about to begin giving commissions for extra chores. I was waiting to create some kind of Pinterest-worthy cute magnet system, but I just want to START so Post-It notes on the fridge it is! Thanks for the encouragement!
We use a chore card.If they complete their chores cheerfully, they get a punch on the card per chore. When there are 12 punches, they pick from a jar of rewards (date night w/ mom or dad, you pick dinner, family night of your choice, etc)
I subscribe via e-mail. 🙂 We do have a list of chores (they include: watering trees, weeding the flowerbeds, weeding the garden, gathering the eggs, emptying the dishwasher, feeding the cats, taking care of the chickens, feeding the sheep, taking care of the lambs) each chore has a certain pay amount attached to it (based on the difficulty), when my daughter has chosen to perform a chore she gets a mark, then she gets paid every two weeks based on the work she did.
I subscribed via e-mail. We have a couple of different systems going. My older two (6 and 4) are expected to pick up their dirty clothes, put away clean clothes, and pick up toys. We don’t do money, we have shiny stone jars that I add to as I see them doing things without complaining, etc. We also have a “chore bucket” that gets filled if I have to pick up after them after I’ve asked them to do it. They can’t get an item out of her until they do a “special” chore. My favorite is to have them clean out a kitchen drawer and reorganize it. Unfortunately, they aren’t very motivated to get something out of it very often…
I subscribed via email.
I’ve tried the chore thing with my 3 year old, but it didn’t go so well. Hopefully starting at a bit if a later age will help!
Chores are great for kid’s attitudes and so that they feel needed! When the boys are picking fights a lot I often realize that I haven’t been diligent in getting them to do their chores! At 5 and 3 they feed the chickens and dog, gather eggs, bring dirty laundry into the laundry room and put away clean laundry (at the age of 3 you can’t be too picky about neat stacks of shirts in the drawer (: ), empty the dishwasher and fill water bottles for the fridge. It’s amazing how much they can do if we take some time to teach them and they feel good about themselves when they are contributing to the work. I try to be sure to give them lots of praise for a job well done!
Thank you so much for this insight. We will definitely implement this when our kids are old enough.
I just do a little each day and my husband helps whenever he sees something to be done.
Blog hopping from time warp wife. Eager to hear replies! Subscribed. Molly
OH! and I subscribed via email. 🙂
Our oldest (4 years) has some responsibilities (what we call chores) like feeding the cat, putting away her folded clothes and unloading the silverware from the dishwasher. She does them with an almost joyful spirit 😉 and the youngest is only a year and a half so she hasn’t started helping too much yet, but in a couple years she should be there. We are a Dave Ramsey family and would love to win his FPU jr edition!
I subscribed with google
We have four kids, ranging in age from 16-6. They all do chores and help out. We don’t really do allowances though, but do pay them for the occasional above and beyond work they do.
I subscribed via email.
I have 2 young children (2 & 5). Both kids are expected to help put away their toys before bed. They are also expected to take care of getting their dishes in the sink and any garbage in the trash can after meals. The 2 year old often needs help with this, but is very willing to help as much as he can. Our 5 year old is also expected to do at least one other chore every day. She is allowed to choose anything from a list of approved tasks (dusting, sweeping, organizing her room, etc.) Every chore she does earns her a marble and when her marble jar is full she earns a prize. The prizes range from puzzles and books to dates with mom or dad and special family activities. She loves to look through her prize book to pick a reward to work towards.
Followed on Bloglovin and we use a chore chart.
I am now following your blog and liked you on FB. Wow…this is SOOO helpful!!! My 2 year old doesn’t have set chores yet but we have been looking for a way to incorporate this into her life. Thank you for this information!!!