Kids & Cleaning: Divvying Up the Chores

So you’re easing your kids into your cleaning routine, but how many chores can you reasonably expect them to do?

I’ve found a good rule is to take his or her age, divide it by two and round up when needed. For each child, this number should remain constant, regardless of the number of chores that need to be tackled in a given week. Although the number of chores may be small, there are many that need to be done each day, and this is a great way to get your kids used to helping out.

Using this system, an 8-year-old with six siblings would have the same number of chores as an 8-year-old only child. The point is not to just get the work done; the point is teaching your child or children responsibility and to get some work done. After all, if you have only one child, it hardly seems fair to saddle her with all of the chores for your home. If chores are to be successful, they must be both fun and fair. And your supervision and enforcement must be consistent.

Now, here’s an important caveat: by chores, I don’t mean making the bed, clearing dishes from the table after a meal, or keeping your clothes on hangers and off the floor. Those are essential tasks that are done daily - period. They are just a part of the routine of daily life, lie brushing your teeth. I refer to them as “personal virtues” for which completion is reward enough. No cash or barter changes hands. Zilch. Nada. These tasks are so ingrained in my two older children that I can’t think of the last time I had to ask them to make their beds.

What I mean by “chores” are all those other cleaning and organizing tasks that contribute the family’s comfort and the home’s overall tidiness. These include things like sweeping the floors, raking leaves, folding laundry, changing bed linens and cleaning toilets.

On Sunday evenings, we gather around the kitchen table to discuss the week ahead and divvy up the chores. My son Chris, 13, chooses seven chores; Lyndsay selects six; and we toss an easy chore or three 5-year-old Payne’s way. Then we’re set for the week. There’s no whining since the kids chose their chores!

My chore list includes:

kitchen:

✔ Set table
✔ Clear table
✔ Load dishwasher
✔ Unload dishwasher
✔ Damp-mop floor
✔ Empty trash
✔ Sweep floor

bathrooms:

✔ Clean toilet, sink and tub
✔ Buff shower doors
✔ Wash shower walls

general home:

✔ Vacuum rugs and carpets
✔ Clean windows and mirrors
✔ Vacuum upholstery and curtains
✔ Wash and fold laundry
✔ Change bed linens
✔ Polish silver

outside:

✔ Sweep porches and walkways
✔ Mow lawn
✔ Weed garden
✔ Water flowers
✔ Clean garage

Okay, the mathematically inclined have probably already figured out that’s 21 chores, with only 12 going to the kids. Who picks up the other nine? Mom or dad, of course. And we don’t get to choose! However, if a child does not do his or her chores, whines about them, or does not do them well, the next week he or she gets an extra chore. A bonus! This bonus system keeps them on track.