3 minute read
CHORES FOR KIDS
Chores for Kids
CONTRIBUTING WRITER: Deborah Frey, Ed.D.
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When I needed to earn spending money as a youngster, I folded a bucket of e laundry for a nickel. I much preferred folding towels to the underwear bucket, because of the speed of completion. Ironing a load of Dad’s handkerchiefs earned me a dime. Raking leaves and shoveling snow earned additional coins.
All of the children in my family received money for good grades, but weekly chores only earned us room, board, and free time. In the kitchen, I set the table, dried the clean dishes, and emptied the dishwasher of silverware. My tall sister emptied the glasses and dishes onto the high shelves, and my oldest sister and my mother handwashed the delicate dishes, pots, and pans. Weekly, I dusted the furniture and had one bathroom to clean while my other siblings completed their assigned tasks.
In past columns, I have discussed how to help your child learn to be kind through modeling and to be more cooperative through play. An article by pediatrician Deborah Gilboa discussed thirteen steps a parent can take to help their child become a successful adult. At the top of the list was routine chores. According to Dr. Gilboa, children who are not responsible for chores will likely be unsuccessful in developing a strong moral character and tend to be selfish. As a parent, I know that it is difficult to be handsoff when your child doesn’t do a chore properly. However, it is a learning process that will help your child learn satisfaction in completing a job as well as valuable life skills.
Before assigning chores, have your child work side-by-side with you. Little ones can hand you plastic cups out of the dishwasher or help you sort clothes by color for the laundry. Explain each step of the chore and have your child practice it until it meets your satisfaction. Once your child is ready to assume responsibility, block out a monthly calendar. Daily chores can be written in at the top or bottom of the month. Weekly chores will be written on the day of the chore. Feel free to give your child a weekly allowance, but make it clear that chores are a natural part of living in a family.
As your child becomes more responsible and assumes chores, your burden will be reduced. If you begin early in your child’s life, doing chores will be a natural way for your child to help the family. If you begin when your child is older and he/she refuses to cooperate, remember that there are things that your child wants like electronics, playtime, toys, desserts, and activities with friends. Participating in these activities should depends on chores being completed in a timely manner.
Children today are pushed to excel academically and physically, but we need to spend as much time building good character. When my daughter had her first internship, I told her to make herself indispensable. She emptied the trash and made sure the copiers had paper. She pitched in wherever and whenever she could. When she graduated from college the company hired her and several years later, when the company began laying off employees, they kept her because she was the only one who knew how to run the office machines. Responsible adults are critical to a functioning society. Let’s all raise our children to be valuable members.
Here is a list of appropriate chores for different ages.
0-3 years
Pick up and put away toys. Make up a little clean-up song to sing with your child when it is time to tidy up. Don’t let your child pull out all of his or her toys at one time. Once he/she is done playing, he/she should put it away before getting something else off the shelf or out of the toybox.
3-5 years
Pick up clothes from the floor and place them in the hamper. Sort dirty clothes, by color, for the laundry. Help make the bed. Put clean forks and spoons in the silverware drawer. Feed and brush a pet.
5-7 years
Dust, put clothes away in drawers, and set the table for meals. Learn to clean windows, first with water in a spray bottle and then with glass cleaner. Take out the garbage, rake leaves, pick up sticks in the yard, and pull weeds.
7-10 years
Clean a bathroom, sweep and mop the floors, vacuum, and begin cooking. When my youngest was seven and her sister was fourteen, we split up the cooking for each week. We ate a lot of hot dogs and spaghetti pie, the girls’ two specialties, but they learned how to cook and feed themselves.
10+ years
By aged ten, your child is capable of doing just about any chore around your house and yard.
Reference: Gilboa, D. (2016). “Chores: The Canary in the Coal Mine of Kid’s Character.” Business Insider.
