CHORES Your 8-11 Year Old Actually Does

For my 8yo

Daily:

Breakfast
Dishes (B, L, D, & snacks)
Shower & Brush Teeth
Make Bed
Pick up Toys (except 2, so he can leave a few things out he's working on)
Recycling (lighter than the garbage, and also more Freq)
School
Play
Help with Projects
Help w/ Dinner

Weekly:

Wash his Sheets
Wash & Put Away his Clothes
Clean Room
Pick a chore x 1 (Like mop the floors, yard work, clean up after dog, windex, etc.)

Kiddo get $7 a week for completing all his chores plus a $3 bonus for doing them in a timely fashion with good attitude. We have life stuff like hygiene, playing, & school on the list as well to be checked off because (with our adhd kiddo) fully HALF of what I want to teach with chores is balance. Things that really NEED to be done every day do include things like showering, playtime/taking care of yourself time, & employment (whether work or school) in addition to taking care of your own stuff and helping out those you live with.

The other half that I'm trying to teach with chores is money management. Theoretically, if he always got the full amount (rarely happens) AND didn't spend a dime of it he'd have $520 a year. He only needed to save $500 for his laptop he's wanted, so he *theoretically* could have had it in a year. Instead it took him 3. Because he chose to spend some of his allowance as we went through on things he wanted (games, toys, outings) and in donating parts of it. (He takes real issue with summer food programs for kids... the idea that some kids only get breakfast and lunch during the school year infuriates him. He also likes to donate money to the local synagog that we're *not* members of, but most of his friends are. He gets to go with them to temple quite frequently and he wants to help out in his own way).

Every Jan 2 his allowance bumps up considerably, and he's also responsible for paying for "more". Last year that meant if we were going out to eat or to a movie he needed to chip in, and he pays for his xBox live account. This year he become responsible for his cell phone bill and he gets his own debit account to start learning how to track and balance it (it's a child account with many restrictions on it, but it's still a working account). Every year as his allowance goes up so does his monetary contributions for what he uses. IDEALLY by the time he's 14.5 he'll be responsible for everything (school expenses, clothing, sports, 1/3 of our monthly bills, rent for his room -that will go into savings for when he actually moves out-, etc.).

Sounds like things I was doing at that age. I could also run the washing machine, fold/hang laundry and put it away, vacuum, sweep, mop, dust, hand wash dishes, load and unload dishwasher, clean the refrigerator, clean the stove, clean bathrooms and bedrooms, garden, cook many dinners, set and clear the table. I was able to do most of this by the age of 8 and all of it by 11.

I had to do it every day, and every Saturday was when I had to do deep cleaning (like mopping). My M. wrote a list and my sister and I had to go around and do everything on the list room by room.

Makes me wonder what my M. did?

my daughter (7) cooks with my husband, she sweeps, mops the floor, mows the lawn WITH adult in heavy grassy area (away from a bunch of twigs and debris) feeds and waters the dogs, Laundry, still learning to fold MY way (can be a task) put away her own clothes, makes bed vacumes

riley i LOVE what you're doing to teach your kids about "adult hood" never looked at it that way

7 year old son:

-loads and unloads the dishwasher and puts the dishes away
-puts clothes from the washer into the dryer
-folds/hangs up and puts away his laundry
-cleans his room
-keeps the refrigerator stocked with things like bottled water
-helps un-load and put groceries away
-vaccums with hand-held vaccum for small messes
-helps with baby sister, like carrying the diaper bag or playing with her while I try to get something done

We also have a points system. He gets points for everything from having good manners to remembering to bring his gloves home from school. He saves the points for various prizes--like a chore pass, extra tv time, or for a larger amount of points a special outing or a toy.

My teenagers switch daily taking out the trash and recycling with loading and unloading the dishwasher and letting out the dog and they act like they're the only kids who have to do anything and like it is too much. My 5 year old offers to help with vacuuming and dishes, mopping and dusting and cleaning. I better keep him on that track while he's wanting to do it so badly!

6 Year old-Keeping their room clean is their responsibilty, makes her bed, sweeps the bathrooms once a week, empty the bathroom garbage cans every wednesday, cleans the bathroom sink and mirrors, helps set the dinner table and helps her sister sort their laundry.

8 years old-Keeping their room clean is their responsibilty, makes her bed, vacumms, washes the dinner dishes,load their laundry into the washer and dryer once a week and sweeps the stairs every other day.

Ohh and if they walk past dog pee and pop without getting it up!!!! boy oh boy

Mine takes trash/recycling out to cans and takes cans to curb and back on trash days. He loads the dishwasher and puts clean dishes away. He helps carry in groceries and puts them away. He washes down the cars and boat, and waters the gardens and the inside plants. He helps to vacuum the cars and wipe down the windows when we clean the insides. He helps me pick veggies and herbs from the garden and carries yard tools around for me and puts them away when we are finished. He vacuums his room and swiffs the floors. He puts his laundry away. He can make toast, sandwiches, tea, and cereal for himself.