Recently I spent several days on vacation with some close friends. Even on vacation I realized quickly that the boys were doing more chores than my daughter the same age was. Of course she threw her trash away, but that was about it because I do everything at the house.
It was mentioned that I really need to start making my daughter do more. I sat back and had to agree, not only would it make my life easier, but it would teach her responsibility. Maybe she would even appreciate all of the things that I did on a daily basis as a single mom.
I did a little research and found out what the normal chores are for kids her age:
Chores for children ages 10 and older.
- Unload dishwasher.
- Fold laundry.
- Clean bathroom.
- Wash windows.
- Wash car.
- Cook simple meal with supervision.
- Iron clothes.
- Do laundry.
Now here comes the hard part, how do I get her to do the chores such as dusting, laundry and so forth. She had to learn that work leans to rewards and privileges. So I’ve established a rewards system.
First I wanted to make sure we had the idea of taking care of her own things down. Yes, I am sad to say that many times if I am going to do laundry I end up picking up a few items from her floor and putting them in the hamper just steps away. So now this made me think of different chores such as:
- Make bed
- Put clothes away
- Change sheets
- Sweep or vacuum bedroom
- Put items where they belong
And what about her dog? Why did I always find myself walking and feeding him?
We ended up making a list of everything that needed to be done and then she chose what she wanted from the list. We were both responsible for our own rooms and bathrooms, even though I knew she would need a little help in the beginning. The idea is not to clean perfectly, but to learn and become a responsible person and to have respect for our things.
