I was assigning DS (age 11) one chore a day as part of his schoolwork. But, recently I changed it to "15 minute pick-up" where he does whatever needs doing for 15 minutes. Sometimes it's to clean out the van, sometimes it's emptying trash cans, sometimes it's vacuuming, sometimes it's to fold washcloths and socks, sometimes it's putting away his clean laundry. He is also responsible for keeping the game room clean, which basically means keeping dirty dishes out of there (they eat in there sometimes). He also feeds the cats in the mornings.

Audrey :)

Before you start reading I warn you this is long. This is sort of a soap box topic for me. You've been warned.

We have a large family. 5 kids : 11,10,6,3 and 10 months. So, doing chores in our house is a must. Although, even if I had one dc I would still expect participation in being a productive member of the family.

My dc have always had chores from the time they could help me put laundry in a basket. They would toddle around after me while I went about running my household. I was never one for sticking them in a playpen so I could get some cleaning done or shooing them off to play when they were older so I could get the kitchen floor mopped. It is important to me to raise my children with the understanding that they are individuals but also part of a unit called a family. If everyone pitches in we all benefit. If you choose not to pitch in you may have short term gains such as more free time but your long term prospects will look glum. For example others will resent you not helping and mom may think twice before granting a priviledge or request.

As our family has grown they have also taken on more responsibility but always with the understanding that their efforts are appreciated and invaluable to the smooth functioning of our household. My oldest has been heard to mention on more than one occasion, "My mother doesn't know what she would do without me." She's very proud of it.

I used to have all the dc pitch in together to complete each task but they rebelled and asked that I had over the job list to them for them to decide who does what. This is what they came up with.
dd11 does all kitchen clean up after each meal, keeps her room tidy and cleans the 2 1\2 bathrooms once a week. She also is responsible for helping with the baby if I am busy and can't hold her\change her etc.
dd10 does the laundry to include all the children's, the towels and the whites.She keeps her room tidy and once a week she dusts and vacuums the upstairs. (all the bedrooms) 2x a month she has to clean the craft\art area in the garage.
dd6 is responsible for clearing the table after every meal, feeding\watering the dogs everyday and keeping her room tidy. Once a week she dusts and vacuums the living room, wipes down the dining room table and chairs and runs a duster over all the blinds in the house. 2x a month she helps big sister clean craft\art area in the garage.
ds3 puts away baby's toys in living and dining room, keeps his room tidy and sets the table for meals. On cleaning day his job is to clean the window on the back door and run a duster across the baseboards he can get to.

Okay before you start thinking what a task master I am I have to tell you that I'm right there with them while they are doing all of these things. While my oldest is cleaning the bathroom I'm right there de-hairing the bathtub drain. (3 girls with loooong hair) While the next one is vacuuming I'm shaking rugs and moving chairs and toys out of her way. You get the picture. We try to make it fun. We will put on music, be silly or even play games. Their favorite is when I hide sticky notes with letters on them. Through the coarse of cleaning day they find all the letters and they put them together to figure out what the message says. "Go get icecream" or "watch a movie with popcorn in the middle of the day" are the types of rewards they get.

I do a lot for them such as cooking 3 meals a day, taking them to all their activities, doing awesome craft and art projects, building tents in my living room, playing board games and card games, going to the park for picnics, allowing slumber parties (my 3 year old son LOVES these). Oh, and I almost forgot, providing them all with a full and rich education. My dc know that if I had to do all the cleaning and laundry for a family of 7 I would not have time to do most of the other things they love me to do. They honestly do their chores pretty willingly. More so than their schoolwork sometimes.

Give a little, get a little. Give a lot, get a lot. It works for us and I'm proud of my dc especially when I hear frustrated moms complain that they have no time for anything because of all the cooking, cleaning, laundry and teaching they have to do and they can't get their dc to help out. I tell my dc all the time how lucky I am to have children that know the meaning of a family pulling together.

I never wanted to have children so that I could raise them, I wanted to have children so that I could have a family. In my opinion there is a big difference.

Aime

I totally agree with the previous poster.

I believe in chores. I think it teaches responsibility, respect, and how to work together with the family. I think most kids say they have too many chores. In reality, they have no idea what kids on a farm have to do or how kids in the early days had to work. My ds is 12(almost 13). His job is to take out garbage, help dh split and stack wood, help feed cat/dog, help with folding clothes, empty dishwasher, help straighten up house, keep his bedroom tidy, help with snow removal/grass cutting/raking leaves. There are a few more, but those are his basic responsibilities. My dd is 10(soon11) and she has to help with animals, split and stack wook, dishwasher, folding clothes, keep room tidy, remove snow/cut grass/leaves. When I was at home my parents rarely made me do chores and I (when I became an adult) wondered why? I had no responsiblities. I wish I would of been responsible for something!

My kids are 11, 12 and 13. Yes, they do chores. 2 are in school so it limits day time chores. Still, this is what we do...
They are responsible fully for"
loading and emptying the dishwasher
Feeding the dog
Walking the dogs/playing with them (on our property)
Putting their laundry away (and doing their laundry in the summer)
Sweeping the kitchen
Cleaning the 'kids' bathroom
The above are day in and out on a rotating schedule

On the weekends, I list a TON of chores on a white board and set the kitchen timer for 45 minutes. Everyone picks chores and works constantly for 45 minutes (including me and dh...when he is home and inside, not in the yard). When the finish a chores, they cross it off the list and move on to another one. When the time is up, we wrap up and relax. It is shocking how much can get done (vacumming, cleaning under couches, windows, sweeping, dusting etc.) with 4-5 folks working for 45 minutes!

So, that is our chore system. In my opinion, you are doing the right thing to have your dd do work. It builds character, teaches skills and responsibilty and makes a family work together to maintapn THEIR home.
Anne

Just want to clarify one thing about my post. I have my dc do 1 thing a day as far as *general* household chores. My dc are responsible for their messes, their rooms, putting away their clothes etc. I wasn't really thinking of those as chores I guess. That's their stuff, their responsibility. So I guess my dc do have more chores each day. lol

I agree with many things pps said, like we are a family unit, teaching responsibility, making sure they know how to do things, etc.

Each of our dss has 10 chores a day, and they have one hour to get them done (except for the ones that cannot be completed in one hour, like laundry). My boys are 14, 11, 8, and 5. They, too, have been doing chores since they could walk. A two year old can carry small garbage cans, put stuff in the garbage, and help pick up, take laundry out of the dryer - and they enjoy it! The chores my boys do DAILY include bedrooms, dishwasher, laundry - four loads a day, washing table and chairs, sweeping and washing (all) floors and stairs, vacuuming, dusting, baseboards, blinds, animal - feeding and brushing, sanitizing surfaces (with clorox wipes - handles, doorknobs, rails, cupboards, fingerprints), garbages, tidying backporch (coats/shoes/etc.), dog hair on furniture, kitchen counters, plants, toy room, kitty litter, toilets and sinks, etc. If they do not get their chores done in one hour, they get extra chores. If they don't finish their chores by the time breakfast is on the table, they do not get to eat. (I have done all of their chores myself in two to three hours, so this is not excessive.) For us, it goes a little bit farther than just doing chores to get the house clean, and some might think this is harsh, but this is how we believe.

The Bible says if a man does not work, neither should he eat. We are training them that someday they will be the provider, and if they don't work, there will be nothing to provide. The time limit is to teach them not to procrastinate or be lackadaisical about things. Someday when they go to college or get a job, and someone tells them they have to have such'n'such done by a certain time, they won't have a problem. We go check their chores before they are allowed to eat, which teaches them not to do a second-rate or incomplete job. If they learn how to do things right the first time, then that will be one thing that they will be able to be respected for, and hold a job. Everything is pointed back to themselves and their relationship with the Lord. Have they done everything to His glory? Self - They are CHOOSING whether or not to be responsible. Whatever they choose, determines what outcome they are CHOOSING. If they choose to be lazy and not finish their chores, then they are choosing not to eat. (If they miss a meal, they don't get any food until the next meal.) Also, when they choose to be lazy, they are choosing to please the flesh, and choosing to separate themselves from fellowship with God. They then have to choose to take care of their own problem. I tell them, "You don't want to eat, that is fine with me. It's your choice. However, right now you are not pleasing the Lord, and it's also your choice to take care of that." They usually realize pretty quickly they are making a foolish deicision. Harsh lesson to learn, but it doesn't take a boy too many times of missing a meal to figure out what consequence he wants to choose. Application of knowledge is called wisdom.

My dss will, hopefully, someday be husbands and fathers. As husbands and fathers, they will, in God's eyes, be responsible for their families. Noone is going to pay them to cut their own grass, fix a leaky pipe or a broken doorknob, replace glass in a window, etc. In fact, if they don't want to do it themselves, they will have to PAY to have it done. So, with that being said, we don't give them an allowance for doing the work they do. I tell them noone pays daddy and I to do the stuff we do, and noone is going to pay them to do stuff in their house when they get older. That is part of being a family and being responsible for what is yours, like cleaning up after yourself, picking up dirty clothes, taking care of your own dishes, throwing away your own garbage, etc. We don't make more work for someone else, either.

The benefit comes when I see my fourteen year old work harder than some men. I have responsible kids that value a dollar, and know what it means to earn something. When we are out, and I see my kids ready and willing to help someone WORK, it makes me feel blessed. They are good kids. If they get to complaing, I just remind them what someone else on here said - kids don't know what work is compared to back in the 1800s and early 1900s! Praise God for modern conveniences to help that work ethic along:)

On a daily basis, our 9yo dd is required to make her bed, straighten her room, pick up her things from around the house, feed her cat, and put her laundry away. Once a month she has to thoroughly clean her drawers and closet. We consider these things to be personal responsibility, so she is not paid an allowance for doing them. Although I must say, since she is a spectacular mess-maker, completing this list on a daily basis is no small feat!

For chores, she is expected to set the table, help load and unload the dishwasher, and feed the family dogs. She is paid a small allowance for these things.

Things such as gathering the library books, helping to make meals, helping out w/down low dusting, or helping with getting/carrying/putting away things for me while I'm working on something around the house, or doing a little extra if I'm sick are just considered being part of a family, no payment necessary!

If she does something really above and beyond such as giving the dogs a bath, shoveling snow, or washing the car, we pay her extra.