Grace asked me on this post about my children’s chores. I’ve written about how I set up their chores and also their weekly chores, but I haven’t given you the specifics of our daily chores. The everyday stuff that is required of them.
If you read my post on our modified workbox system, you know how I keep track of the fact that the chores have been completed and you also know that their daily chores are listed next to their What I Did Today chart.
Now, here is each of my children’s lists (AM & PM) along with their age and gender. My disclaimer is that no two households look the same, so you will more than likely see something you either don’t need or something lacking that you do need. Tweak away…’tis the name of the game!
Boy age 12
AM Chores – get dressed, brush teeth, make bed, tidy room, laundry in (get your basket from the shelf & put clothes away), laundry out (gather up soiled clothing and put in dirty laundry basket), pet care, Bible reading
PM Chores –15 minute Tidy, pajamas, get drink, brush teeth, say prayers
Girl age 9
AM Chores – get dressed, brush teeth, deodorant (son doesn’t need to be reminded…daughter does), brush hair, make bed, tidy room, laundry in, laundry out, pet care, Bible reading, vitamins (she takes quite a few supplements and needs to be reminded to take them)
PM Chores -15 minute Tidy, pajamas, get drink, brush teeth, say prayers
Girl age 5 (pictures are included with each chore)
AM Chores – get dressed, brush teeth, brush hair, make bed, tidy room, laundry in, laundry out
PM Chores – 15 minute Tidy, pajamas, get drink, brush teeth, go potty (because she needs to be reminded), say prayers
Boy age 4 (pictures are included with each chore)
AM Chores – get dressed, brush teeth, brush hair, make bed, tidy room, laundry in, laundry out
PM Chores – 15 minute Tidy, pajamas, get drink, brush teeth, go potty (yep, also needs to be reminded!), say prayers
Morning chores are ideally done before breakfast and evening chores are done before bedtime. What it all boils down to is expectations. What do you want your child to do daily? How can you easily convey that to them and then move from you harping on them to them owning their daily chores? This system has worked out quite well for us because it is posted (with pictures for the non-readers) and there is no room for questions. They know what is expected. It isn’t a mystery. And once the AM Chores are complete, they get the satisfaction of moving that tab off their folder and onto the their chart!
Laney says
OK, I am loving “seeing” how you do things in your home. Trying desparately to hold off on totally copycatting your workbox system until a. baby comes b. we move or c. both a and b happen. I can only successfully accomplish up to 2 major changes at a time. 🙂
Anyway, I understand that you left room for each family to include what is necessary for them…just wondering though… Do your kids have any daily cleaning tasks? My kids have morning chores that look something like empty dishwasher, sweep kitchen floor, wipe down bathroom counters/sink, etc. in addition to the types of things you have listed. Do your kids have these type responsibilities? Where do they fit into your daily schedule? Wondering because I expect a LOT in the morning and we are having a difficult time getting school started at a reasonable hour. (and my definition of reasonable is quite loose)
Laney says
just wanted to clarify my question after re-reading your previous posts. I am not talking about weekly type chores. This chore for Mon, this chore for Tues, etc. I am talking specifically about chores that a particular child is assigned everyday of the week. For example, my oldest son is required to sweep the kitchen floor everyday just like he brushes his teeth everyday. Or is all this included in your chore list not labeled AM chores?
Amy says
OK, I’m glad you clarified b/c I wasn’t sure what to tell you. But, yes, they do have regular chores. However, the chores are a little different than what you would expect.
The children are in charge of table chores…every single day, every single meal. Someday I’ll post about that too, but it’s basically clearing the table, wiping chairs, sweeping, putting away leftovers, unloading dishwasher, reloading dishwasher, tidying kitchen.
Other than that, we do 1 or 2 15 minute tidies (from the Cleaning Music post) where everyone pitches in to tidy up. Everything else falls into either the daily chore list or the weekly chore list.
Does that make sense?
Laney says
Yes this makes sense. I just have mine divided up a bit differently then. For example, if my littles can do it, then I try to leave the olders out of it so I can assign bigger jobs to them. For example, my 6yo is responsible for getting ALL the laundry to the laundry room, but technically it should already be in the hamper so he only has to move the clothes from the hamper to the laundry room and return the hamper to the front bathroom. My 3.5yo is responsible for clearing the breakfast table cause she can without help. While my older children have things like use clorox wipes to wipe down the bathroom (littles not quite ready for that). These are all things that are done daily. Then we have a weekly chore list as well. I also find that this house has a different level of maintenance that must be done in particular areas…we HAVE to “vaccuum” everyday. In our other house, this was a once a week thing. So here, I bought a carpet sweeper (non-electric, like you see in restaurants). It does the job daily and then we haul out the vaccuum once a week and each kid has a different area to do.
We also do the 15 minute tidy concept. Usually I assign everyone an area to be in charge of, but if you finish then you move on to someone else’s area to help out. You are responsible for your area when Mom inspects. I have tried to make the # of chores pretty equal for all the children, but the level of the task depends on age. Every once in a while, an older child graduates to a more “responsible” chore. Then the littles take over the previous chore. Our table chores have just made this switch. I needed my oldest to start mopping the kitchen floor (instead of me) so I took one of his easier chores (getting drinks for meals) and gave it to the 6yo. The 3.5yo got the task of getting all flatware for meals and the 9yo got something else.
Wow, I am giving you all kinds of info and I’m was the one asking you how you do your chores…not the other way around. 😉 I’ll stop now.
Amy says
No, I love it! Thanks for sharing!
Gwen T says
The 15 minute Tidy is a great idea – My crew has a.m. and p.m. chore lists, but somehow there’s still a mess in between. Having one quick pick up like this is a great idea. Thanks!!
Salo says
Hi Amy,
wow, you are so organised!
My mother had 5 children too, I have only 2 so far and we never even thought of such an systhem.
Maybe I should try that, although they are only 2,5 and 4,5 years old.
Only one thing I find a bit weird: Does a 9 year old girl really need deodorant? With boy 12 years old need some I agree.
Greetings from Germany
Salo
Amy says
Unfortunately, yes, she does. She uses a natural one, but her body chemistry is a bit out of whack. The supplements she takes help, but not always.
Ingrid says
I love how organized and detailed you are this really helps with my own family.
LaVonne says
I like the pictures attached to the toddler chores. My little girl is 2 and I am trying to show her how to clean up, put toys away, and help mommy. She loves to right now. She even likes brushing her teeth (I do it first of course.)
When did you start giving them a chore list? What age?
Amy says
I don’t usually give them a daily chore list until they are 3 or 4. At 5 they graduate to full-blown weekly chores, albeit very easy ones. We make a big deal about them getting to help the big kids and be an even bigger help to the family.
Christine (iDreamofClean) says
I love the idea of making it a “Big Deal” that they get to help out the family! That is such a great idea! This whole post in general is amazing to me. When I grow up, I want to be as organized as you. Of course, I only have one little one right now so thankfully I have a bit of time!!
.-= Christine (iDreamofClean)´s last blog ..Real Clean Wednesday: Washing Fruits and Vegetables =-.
Amy says
I wish I were half as organized as I appear! We’re still a real family w/ major glitches, but I think by nature, a large family has be organized or all you end up with is chaos. We like to call it “organized chaos” or “herding cats”! 😉
Sherry says
Do you think this would work with an almost 11 y.o. and a 14 y.o.?
.-= Sherry´s last blog ..Breaking out of a reading rut & a Giveaway =-.
Amy says
Definitely! The whole idea is to give them a particular set of chores to complete that doesn’t require you constantly breathing down their throats. As a friend of mine once said, “Let the list nag them!” If they know what to expect, all that needs to be said is, “Are your morning chores done?”
Jenn says
Oh man! All three of mine are younger than your youngest “chore child”! I’ve been wanting to start a chore chart with them for a while though, mostly just to help me stay more organized. They’ll just have pretty short lists for now 🙂
Amy says
I remember those days! They won’t last long. 😉
Grace Wheeler says
This is awesome Amy…thank you!!! I’m gonna go read over your previous posts now too! I have a dry erase board I use for chores…everything is in Sharpie so that only the dry erase check marks get erased every day. I don’t have any pictures for the boys…I need to incorporate that. I used to use chore cards, but they always ended up lost or chewed on 🙂
THANK YOU THANK YOU for this!
.-= Grace Wheeler´s last blog ..Cue The Drumroll Please… =-.
Amy says
Chewed up cards! lol (and you are welcome!)
Michelle says
We just implemented a responsibility chart for our kids (9,9,7) this week. I am hoping it relieves my stress at harping on them to get their responsibilities done as well as laying out their expectations in an easy to read and follow manner.
Jen Holm says
So obviously your little ones do well getting chores done before breakfast? My little crew are two girls, 3 1/3 years and almost 2 years (and newborn boy) and once they are up they are well ready to eat and start telling me what they want for breakfast. Plus, they both get food on their clothes still while eating, so getting dressed *after* breakfast is best. Then clothes are fresh (at least till lunch time!).
Wondering if I should experiment with chores before breakfast. I typically tell them (mostly the 3 year old) to do 2 or 3 simple chores after breakfast in order to “earn” her cartoon time (my time to eat, shower, etc).
Do you find some sort of benefit to chores before breakfast?
Also, I just love the chore list with pictures! I need to make one so she/they can get into the habit or at least the rytheme. Now with our 3rd baby mornings are packed with “to do’s” and I need my 3 year old to know what to do and when so I can stop repeating my instructions over and over.
This was a great post, thank : )
Amy says
Well, a lot has changed in the 6 years since I wrote this, but we do still have morning chores, they are just simpler. Basically, get dressed, make bed, brush teeth. Currently, the season we are in includes breakfasts the kids can grab all by themselves. We aren’t big breakfast people, so it’s usually a no-fuss affair. From there, they tidy and then school starts. And I still find myself reminding the younger ones. Tends to be the nature of the beast. 😉
Nicole says
Does this still work for you?
For example would using this for a 7 yr, 5 yr and 3 (4 in august) work?
Amy says
I do not still use this, but it worked very well back then, and I would think it would work great for the ages you have.