How old were your kids when you started giving them chores? Have you started giving them chores yet? Harmonie is eight and she has had chores since she was six. I was giving her an allowance back then also. It was a simple allowance: $.25, $.10 and $.05. The chores were simple enough also: set the table, make her bed, clean her room and help put away her laundry. We did go with this for a while and then life got involved and it went by the way side.
Now we live in a new place. We are on our own. Harmonie is eight and she needs more responsibility. She needs more productive ways to earn things and fill up her day. School takes a good chunk of our morning since these days I can’t seem to roll out of bed before 9 or 10am. Going to bed at 2:00am is killing me. The afternoon is spent with errands on some days and others are filled with me trying to get work done while she sits in front of the television. A little TV time is good for relaxation but it’s time to do more.
The problem I find happening is, I’m so use to doing everything for myself and her that I find it hard to let go and ask for help to get things done. What a crazy mental flaw. That in itself is a blog post. What are your crazy mental flaws? Don’t be surprised if you see that one someday soon. 😉
The other day on her own Harmonie began to wash the dishes. Dishes grow dirty fast in this apartment because we don’t have a dishwasher. Washing dishes should be an eight year old’s chore. She doesn’t do it perfectly yet but we discussed what to do to make them sparkle and now she is determined to get it right. Self Esteem building don’t you think?
Make her bed and clearing the living room has become another chore. She does pretty well with that one though I find some days she doesn’t do it and I just let it ride. I need to get on that one. She wants to learn how to do the laundry by hand. I feel this is a great chore and a great skill to learn. You never know when you will need this one. There isn’t much else to do. She cooks once a week with my assistance.
What do you think? How many chores should a eight year old have. Should an eight year old have chores? What do you think they should be? Do you give an allowance? How much? How old should you start this practice and how often? Let’s talk about!
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