Our kids do chores do yours?

'Everybody wants to save the earth; nobody wants to help Mum with the dishes' :-)  P.J.O'Rourke

On today's blog I am discussing children and chores. We both feel very strongly about ensuring we provide our children with opportunities to be responsible and carry out their own jobs in their own home. Good habits last a lifetime and your future daughter/son in law will thank you for raising tidy children :-)



Here are a few jobs I have my girls carry out in the home; watering the raised beds, putting their dirty clothes in the laundry basket, putting toys back in their right place in the playroom, laying the table, handing me the clothes from the basket to be hung on the washing line and recently Farrah has been doing some hoovering for me! Happy days! Kids like to help,embrace this and always provide lots of positive reinforcement.

Kerri also get's her son Seán to do his daily "jobs". These include counting out the correct amount of cutlery for dinner, setting the table, bringing the used bowl or plate back to the sink and then putting it into the dishwasher. This is a chore but also something that if taught from a young age, when do so out of home especially, it becomes good manners. Hoovering is also a favourite of Seán's: if he does a good job he then gets a spin on the hoover! Of course he does not hoover to any great standard, but thats not the point. The idea is teaching him responsibility and identifying and realising the jobs that need to be done in a house. Bringing his clothes down to the washing machine is a new job for him and the novelty factor is keeping it going..here's hoping it stays!  Tidying away toys in the playroom before bed is one we are currently working on...it's not going too well, but i'll stick to it! 

Here are some tips in getting your children to help with chores at home;

Start young. Make a tidy up session before bathtime an integral part of the day.

Set ground rules. For example-pen lids must be replaced,outdoor shoes(wellies) must always be put away, and pyjamas folded under pillows.

Everyone helps. Children grumble about clearing up when they didn't personally make the mess. You can make the point that it wasn't mum or dad who scattered jigsaw pieces or dropped play dough on the floor. Make it clear that everybody tidy's up,every day.

Show what needs to be done. If we don't water the vegetables we won't have them to eat for dinner because they need water to grow big and strong. Also dont expect a child to know what to tidy up,show them exactly. Children often don't recognise toys on the floor as mess.

Make it easy. Use easy to reach boxes for example, one box for play food, one box for Lego.

Reward particularly good behaviour. Positive reinforcement is so important and works wonders. Household tasks should be regarded as part of family life, not something that children are paid to do. Besides lots of positive reinforcement, extra special effort can be recognised with sticker charts for younger children and additional pocket money for older kids.

Easy Tasks For Children

Pre-schoolers
Picking up toys
Watering plants
Putting clothes in laundry basket
Laying the table

5 to 10 year olds
Loading the dishwasher
Washing the car
Sweeping the floors

11 to 16 year olds
Vacuuming
Gardening tasks
Taking out the rubbish

Let me know if your children help at home,what tasks they carry out,do they complain or enjoy it? We would love to hear.



Until next time, thanks for reading!

Orla and Kerri  xxx

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