Chores

[Wenchy]

Should 11 and 12 year old children be cleaning toilets, dusting and vacuuming?

If it's their "holiday" should they be allowed to play video games all day and not help out?

Opinions, please.

 

[BS Gal]

They should clean my house because I have a disable.

 

[Wenchy]

They should clean my house because I have a disable.

OMG.

Last I heard you got a Roomba.

 

[BS Gal]

OMG.

Last I heard you got a Roomba.

I :heart: you and I love my Roomba. Thank you so very much. I need the kids at 10:00.

 

[bresamil]

Mine started dusting and vacuuming at age 6. 11/12 is when I trained the first two in bathroom duty.

But considering they had schoolwork over the holiday (whoever came up with the science fair schedule is a real Scrooge), all chores - other than laundry are on vacation too.

 

[Dymphna]

My 7 & 10 year olds are on bathroom duty. :shrug:

 

[Wenchy]

Mine started dusting and vacuuming at age 6. 11/12 is when I trained the first two in bathroom duty.

But considering they had schoolwork over the holiday (whoever came up with the science fair schedule is a real Scrooge), all chores - other than laundry are on vacation too.

No homework here and no excuses. (Esperanza)

The other has testing in DE when he returns. You really can't study for that and he does great on the standardized tests.

They will both learn how to clean toilets tomorrow, etc...

 

[Wenchy]

My 7 & 10 year olds are on bathroom duty. :shrug:

I'm in a home with three males. Somehow, they think I should do it all.

I feel they should be grateful I am teaching them how to keep a clean/sanitary home.

HA! I will stop cooking next week.

 

[bresamil]

I'm in a home with three males. Somehow, they think I should do it all.

I feel they should be grateful I am teaching them how to keep a clean/sanitary home.

HA! I will stop cooking next week.

I always tell mine to pretend I'm dead and they don't want to go to a foster home. That way they have to keep the house like a responsible adult lives there. :shrug:

Of course, this doesn't always work.

 

[Dymphna]

I'm in a home with three males. Somehow, they think I should do it all.

I feel they should be grateful I am teaching them how to keep a clean/sanitary home.

HA! I will stop cooking next week.

Daddy's the one who decided that the two boys needed to be on bathroom duty. :shrug: My girls don't have specific chores, besides their own rooms....of course, my girls are 5 & 5 months. :shrug:

 

[huntr1]

My 7 & 10 year olds are on bathroom duty. :shrug:

10 y.o. has been doing the bathroom for at least 3 years. 7 y.o. started after turning 6 I believe. # 1 daughter will be added to the hall bath list after her birthday and #1 son will be moved up to more difficult chore. Thinking cleaning the master bath by himself.

Yes, I am evil.

 

[Wenchy]

10 y.o. has been doing the bathroom for at least 3 years. 7 y.o. started after turning 6 I believe. # 1 daughter will be added to the hall bath list after her birthday and #1 son will be moved up to more difficult chore. Thinking cleaning the master bath by himself.

Yes, I am evil.

You are teaching them life skills.

Stepson doesn't want to do Scouts anymore, yet his daddy is paying for him to go skiing on a Scout trip.

What does this teach him?

He will be cleaning the latrines tomorrow.

 

[lil_daisy]

My 9, and 8 year old boys are both on bathroom duty. They dust their trophy shelf once a week, bathroom duty gets rotated, he who swishes also does trash, the other wipes out the toothpaste off the sink and surrounding area. I do the floor. One wipes with windex on the mirror.

They have floor duty at night before bed. All clothes get picked up and put away before the lights go out.
All are expected to make beds and be dressed before breakfast. School aged kids are responsible for their own lunches, library books on media day and homework going to and from school. My pre-K daughter makes her own lunch too. She can grab a yogurt and a juice pouch and ask for the snack she wants. She gets out her napkin and spoon too. Miss Thing doesn't like sandwiches, so we have other options.

 

[cattitude]

You are teaching them life skills.

Stepson doesn't want to do Scouts anymore, yet his daddy is paying for him to go skiing on a Scout trip.

What does this teach him?

He will be cleaning the latrines tomorrow.

Aren't you the new kid in town? My opinion would be you need to tread lightly.

 

[oldman]

Best I can remember my only chore growing up was to feed the dog each evening. Oh, I also had to cut the grass which I didn't like at all until Dad got our first power mower. I was then taught very well in the art of cleaning and bathroom duty in boot camp as well as learning the language of a true sailor (you know all those 4-letter words Mom wouldn't say to me).

 

[vraiblonde]

Aren't you the new kid in town? My opinion would be you need to tread lightly.

As someone who was once in Wenchy's position, I agree with this.

When I "took over a household", I wish I'd have been more tolerant of the existing lifestyle instead of trying to put my mark on everything and "straighten them up".

 

[DoWhat]

I'm in a home with three males. Somehow, they think I should do it all.

I feel they should be grateful I am teaching them how to keep a clean/sanitary home.

So, before you moved in, D had a nasty dirty house?

I find that hard to believe.

 

[toppick08]

Should 11 and 12 year old children be cleaning toilets, dusting and vacuuming?
If it's their "holiday" should they be allowed to play video games all day and not help out?

Opinions, please.

Yes, Yes, Yes.

 

[Pandora]

As someone who was once in Wenchy's position, I agree with this.

When I "took over a household", I wish I'd have been more tolerant of the existing lifestyle instead of trying to put my mark on everything and "straighten them up".

I have never been in this position but I have sat on the sidelines and watched blended families and the issues that come up and I tend to be (or better yet - used to be) empathetic to a fault but can still see the issues. These are issues my husband and I choose to not ever deal with and the reason why we agreed to make our marriage work. Those issues really did outweigh any problems we felt we had and to us, it wasn't worth the exchange.

When you are used to having things one way and when you attempt to blend into another established situation, you are going to have issues. It cannot always be about what *I* want and bliss or acceptable bliss cannot be accomplished overnight.

Readers would have to know Wenchy's situation and that 1 of these children has a primary residence on the Eastern Shore for school and such and the other is back and forth between another residence, locally. People like me, huntr, bre, who have joint biological parental control or sole control cannot advise Wenchy on this situation and the only advice that matters are from the people who have actually had experience with these types of 'blended' situations, like you, like Catt... but agree that treading lightly is the only way (from an empathetic standpoint of course).

 

[Vince]

Should 11 and 12 year old children be cleaning toilets, dusting and vacuuming?

If it's their "holiday" should they be allowed to play video games all day and not help out?

Opinions, please.

Mom had us doing chores as soon as we could walk. Hell, by 11 or 12 I was mowing the grass and we had a lot of it to mow with a regular push mower.