re: At what age did your kid(s) start doing chores?

my son is 4 and has a chore chart. He helps empty the dishwasher, set and clear the table, get dressed and brush his teeth alone, make his bed, helps put his clothes away, he also puts his toys away. My daughter is 2 and she helps empty the dishwasher, put her clothes away, and make her bed. They actually like to help out!

My kids are 4 and 10 aand 4 and started chores as soon as they could understand how to pick up after themselves.

My 4 yr old sets and clears the table, loads and unloads the dishwasher.
Vaccums the hallway her bedroom the living room and uses the steam cleaner on the floors.
She tidys the bathrooms cleans her rooms, seperates the laundry, brings and folds her laundry and puts it away. Makes her bed. Walks the dog feeds the cats, pick up whatever around the house.

My 10 yr old does all apove but washes and dries dishes, does the cat litter, cooks dinner on certain nights, cleans the bathrooms toilest bathtub etc...washes the floors in the house does vaccuming, cuts grass in the summer and shovels snow in the winter, she picks up the dog poop in the yard etc...

My kids ear allowence 50.00 a week for their chores.

Also every week is new chores, we sit down sunday nights and pull chores out of the box (me included) and whatever little chore list they get, that is their rooms to keep clean that week.

Sample:
If lo gets vaccuming it includes vaccuming all rooms that week and making sure it gets done at least 2 times that week so Monday and like thursday (unless its needs it beore then)
along with vaccuming usually includes dusting and that, plus keeping her room clean etc...simple but effective. lol

<blockquote><b>Quoting Coupon Lady:</b>" My kids are 4 and 10 aand 4 and started chores as soon as they could understand how to pick up after ... [snip!] ... then) along with vaccuming usually includes dusting and that, plus keeping her room clean etc...simple but effective. lol"</blockquote>




Your 4 year old gets 50 a week for allowance?!

Quoting Dr. Paradigm Shift:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Coupon Lady:</b>" My kids are 4 and 10 aand 4 and started chores ... [snip!] ... keeping her room clean etc...simple but effective. lol"</blockquote> Your 4 year old gets 50 a week for allowance?!"

She sure does.  

<blockquote><b>Quoting Coupon Lady:</b>" She sure does.  "</blockquote>




What does she buy?

Quoting Dr. Paradigm Shift:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Coupon Lady:</b>" She sure does.  "</blockquote> What does she buy?"

Anything she wants.....That I wont buy at that moment. usually from the dollar store lol, its mostly in her savings account. she has 2500 in there right now. But she likes to buy apps for her ipad or ipod. Monster high toys etc.....she just bought her winter coat and boots last weekend (her choice she wanted to use her card like her sister) lol I put the money back in tho. lol

Now my oldest spends her money more (10 yrs old) and has a lot more saved up, but she bought her own ipod touch and her own apps etc....clothes and her friends bday gifts. Stuff like that.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Coupon Lady:</b>" Anything she wants.....That I wont buy at that moment. usually from the dollar store lol, its mostly ... [snip!] ... more saved up, but she bought her own ipod touch and her own apps etc....clothes and her friends bday gifts. Stuff like that."</blockquote>




Interesting method. I was just curious.


We buy all our kids' things and take care of their savings- they don't so much get an "allowance" per se. We've thought about changing it up, but We've been doing it this way for so long.

Quoting Dr. Paradigm Shift:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Coupon Lady:</b>" Anything she wants.....That I wont buy at ... [snip!] ... they don't so much get an "allowance" per se. We've thought about changing it up, but We've been doing it this way for so long."

If they want toys that cost a lot and its not close to birthdays or Christmas they use their own money. If they dont want to fork out that much cash on one thing, they know they dont want it bad enough to dip into their savings, lol

My oldest wants to be a pilot and here you can fly a single plane at 14 yrs old, she is now 10 and is saving for her single pilots lisence   and she is hoping to buy a small plane for herself at 14 then her drivers lisence and a car at 16. lol

They are good with money, both of them are. They learned really quickly how to save and buy reasonable and the difference between a need and a want etc...lol

Quoting Coupon Lady:" If they want toys that cost a lot and its not close to birthdays or Christmas they use their own money. ... [snip!] ... of them are. They learned really quickly how to save and buy reasonable and the difference between a need and a want etc...lol"

I think allowance is a great way to teach kids how to be responsible with money. We haven't started doing an allowance with our kids yet, as we are waiting until Dh gets his promotion in December.

Quoting Sock Lady:" I think allowance is a great way to teach kids how to be responsible with money. We haven't started doing an allowance with our kids yet, as we are waiting until Dh gets his promotion in December."

Its is, my kids thrive on hard work, they really do. I have gotten bashed on here cause I give them so much to do and pay them so much to do it.

I do a lot at work when I go, and I sure as hell dont do it for free. Not all parents can afford to give allowence that is fine. My friend always wanted to do allowence but cant afford it, so she does chore bucks instead. I showed her how to get it going, I started that with my oldest, but tehn moved to real money. lol

My oldest also does 2 paper routes and mows grass and shovel snow walks dogs etc......for our elderly neighbors and they pay her pretty decent too, she loves it and it makes me happy.   lol

<blockquote><b>Quoting Coupon Lady:</b>" Its is, my kids thrive on hard work, they really do. I have gotten bashed on here cause I give them ... [snip!] ... walks dogs etc......for our elderly neighbors and they pay her pretty decent too, she loves it and it makes me happy.   lol"</blockquote>



Explain these chore bucks.

Quoting Juliette:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Coupon Lady:</b>" Its is, my kids thrive on hard work, they ... [snip!] ... they pay her pretty decent too, she loves it and it makes me happy.   lol"</blockquote> Explain these chore bucks."

Chore bucks is fake money (you can buy or make)
Every chore your child does requires a certain amount (chore bucks)

Lets say its $2.00 to vaccum the kitchen floor, so every time they do it you give them the fake $2.00, it goes in a jar (chore buck jar) at the end of the week or two weeks or the end of a month you add them up and it goes towards rewards.

Like for us, if my oldes dd had required 30 chore bucks in one week she could pick friday night dinner out or a movie at the theater.

Or she could choose to save up her chore bucks for as long as she wanted to and get a certain toy she wanted like a 50.00 wii game would require 200.00 chore bucks etc....or whatever amount we decided on.

Or she could use them whenever it was a good time, last min wanting something like a new doll etc...she would count her chore bucks and say I have 90.00 chore bucks we would look ok 90.00 chore bucks gives you 30.00 dollars.

But if she whined or did not to what she was supposed to do, she did not ge them or would loose chore bucks from her jar, for attitude or throwing a fit etc....We also did homework bucks to back then, lol every page she did was like 3.00 in homework bucks, same idea really. lol

That's not a bad idea. I might try that!

DD is about 1 1/2 and picks up her toys, and if she spills something, I give her a paper towel and she wipes it up. She LOVES to help clean  

DS is 5. He picks up toys, and helps around the house, like with clearing off the table, or putting things back where they go, etc.

Aside from picking up toys though, everything else is just done occasionally. He's expected to pick up messes he makes.

I don't really believe in forced chores, for my DD. To me, work is something you should do because you want something to get done, not because someone is compelling you to do it or dangling a reward/threatening punishment. Doing something under force is not "work ethic" to me. Work ethic is seeing something that needs to be done and doing it unprompted, because it needs to be done.

The only chores I make DD do are the ones she has agreed to take on herself, with her animals. My policy has always been that she can have whatever pet she wants as long as she is reasonably responsible (age appropriately) for their care. And she does that happily and seldom even needs to be reminded. Even the really gross stuff.

She also happily helps me cook, often spontaneously offers to do the dishes and give me the night off, and takes it upon herself to do barn chores not even related to her own pets. Though she'd rather muck stalls every day than clean her own room every week. But that's okay. She'll get there eventually and as long as there's nothing unsanitary, a messy room is hardly the worst thing in the world.