I'm up late tonight working on a new chore chart for the children. This is twin 5 year old girls, and their 7 year old sister. For me, the process of making this chore chart means digging through and sorting out three problems: which chores, how to present them, and how to reward them.
Which Chores
Reading the list of chores on websites tells me that you needs to read a lot of lists to get a really good idea. Each list just lists 4-6 ideas from which you might select 2. So I read about 7 lists to select from. I think we've been selling our kids short, and I will need these lists to finally convince my husband that yes, in fact, it is reasonable to think that our 7 year old should be able to vacuum or load the dishwasher. I periodically change their chores, but I like them to keep them for at least 4 months, since one of my goals is learning to do something better than the time before.
7 year old chores
- Vacuum the common areas (living, dining room, and kitchen)
- Load the dishwasher
- Fold the children's laundry
- Make the bed in the morning
- Take out the trash
- Wash windows
5 year old chores 2x for 2 kiddos
- Feed dogs
- Put away folded laundry
- Put away silverware from dishwasher
- Set and clear the table before meals
- Put away groceries
- Help change sheets on beds (dog beds too)
- Dust living room furniture
- Wipe down baseboards
- Wipe down granite counters
- Wipe down wooden counters
- Brush the dogs
- Wipe out the bathroom sink
Sources for this list
Labels: parenting
