Age 5 was somewhat arbitrary, really. The boys learned about the concept of chores from an episode of Curious George in which George does chores to earn money to buy a toy, which got them asking when they could do chores...in order to buy myself enough time to come up with some chores that their uncoordinated little selves could perform, I told them they couldn't do chores until they were five.
So here we are, four days into having chores. (I didn't really have the chore list ready right when they turned five.) It's all really simple stuff: make bed, clean bedroom, sweep under dining table (they love the handheld broom and dustpan). Owen threw a major fit the first two days he was told to make his bed. He had convinced himself he couldn't do it, meanwhile his little Alex. P. Keaton brother was practically doing hospital corners as he asked when he'd be getting paid.
But today they both made their beds without argument and even cleaned up their playroom just like the chore chart says they have to on Fridays. The trick here, of course, is that the major chores, such as cleaning the playroom and their bedroom fall on Wii days (as in, days that we let them play Wii) and they can't play Wii until their chores are done.
The results of all this chore business have been mixed. Aidan exclaimed that he was "exhausted" after five minutes of picking up his playroom (threats of no Wii had him back in there immediately) and Owen threw away the entire broom and dustpan set after sweeping under table. (When I brought this to his attention, his only response was a surprised "Oh!") But how well the chores actually get done is hardly the point. I am just thrilled to have kids who want to help and who will grow up knowing that keeping the house clean is a family effort.
So thank you, Curious George. Without you, it could have been years before I thought to enlist my children as housekeepers. How old do they have to be to start doing laundry?
6 comments:
I feel obligated to say you're welcome in place of my childhood "friend" (my stuffed curious george has a friendship pin on his shirt. I don't remember when I did that) whose name I have phonetically stolen.
it's Alex P Keaton.
Listen to Butch. He knows a lot about fictional Republicans.
Yeah, I know it's P - my finger apparently doesn't, as it typed B - all fixed.
WHEN CAN WE STOP BLAMING YOUR FINGERS??
sorry, I don't know where that came from.
Get the laundry chore going as soon as possible! I already have Nick collecting, sorting, loading, and unloading laundry. I only let him fold the towels, because, really, who cares if they are all wrinkled. I have Hannah and Charlie doing more, but I always seem to get an excuse like "I don't like touching wet clothes" or "I forgot which button turns it on." Start them early and maybe they'll be self sufficient by the time they are 7! I wish I had!
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