My 9 yr old and 10 year old were having a discussion at
bathtime last night.
I did not know what it was about and then my 9 year old came
into the kitchen and asked “Mum, is there another chore that we can do daily
that can make us more money?”
I replied “you unpack the dishwasher already”
He said ‘yes, but it’s only 50c and I want a job that can
make more money”.
We offered him the chore of packing the dishwasher and
wiping the benchtop. Immediately, I
could tell by the look on his face the cleaning of the kitchen was not going to
be appealing. Also, I considered whether
(even with training) he would ever get the job done to the satisfaction of his
dad, who does the chore at the moment. So we may offer him a job or two in the
bathroom.
How to choose chores and how to manage chores:
I don’t want to give my child a chore that I have to nag him
about. It is counterproductive, for us,
if I have to ask 30 times for the chore to be done and then out of frustration
or fatigue takeover and do the task for him. The positive will be lost and there will
probably be another fight to be had at the end of the week/month when he expects
money for it and I have to say the job wasn’t done so no pay.
Some tips on giving chores:
The task needs to be age appropriate: Children need to be able to complete the task
in a relatively short time, 15 minutes at the most. They need to be able to use the tools
required for the task, asking a young child to use chemicals is probably not
wise and if you’re going to worry about them breaking something precious don’t get
them to unpack your dishwasher or dust your ornaments or vases.
Can they do the task without you watching them: Once they have been taught how to do the task
you want them to do or they have got into the habit of doing the task, can it
be done on their own and at a time that suits them? Is there a time you need it done by?
Can it be done as part of an already set up
routine? Ie. Tidy the bathroom after
bathtime.
Is the chore enjoyable or more importantly rewarding: Can children see what impact their chore will
have? eg. If the playroom is clean, it
is a safe space. If they help you with a
task explain that it will give you some extra time to be able to spend with
them.
Set by example: Do
the children see you doing tasks? It can be tempting to do everything while
they are at preschool but once in a while save a job that you can do together.
Do you feel like you are constantly nagging for a task to be
done? Perhaps the chore is too difficult
for the child, perhaps the task is not appropriate for the child’s
development. Perhaps they don’t
understand the importance of the job and perhaps it is not enjoyable.
There is nothing worse than expecting a job
to be done and nagging the kids to do it – take a step back and offer to help
them to see if they will reengage with the task or offer them another chore in
it’s place.