PS (which in this case is a PRE-script, not a post one) – the whole ‘subscribe’ thing in the footer seems to be misbehaving. I’ll work on that. In the meantime, if you’re super keen not to miss my extremely sporadic posting, you can visit this post on the website and in the sidebar (desktop) or footer (mobile) there is a ‘subscribe to the blog’ widget that DOES actually function. Hurrah for functionality!
Ages 10 – 12 is now full chore participation. We use the app Sweepy ($25AU/year, which I find stupidly reasonable for how helpful it is), but you don’t have to. At this point the kids still need active supervision and coaching to get things completed, BUT the things they are completing are adult-level chores, just perhaps fewer of them. Things like shoes and bags and lunchboxes come OFF the chore list, because hopefully they are habits now, and/or things that just need a reminder, and ‘real’ chores take their place: learn to load the dishwasher as well as unload (in our house one kid loads and the other unloads), bins (one does the rubbish, one does the recycling), bathrooms, etc etc.
For example, Sweepy tells me that this afternoon, the 11-year-old is scheduled to clean the stovetop in the kitchen (this often gets skipped, so we’ll see); clean out the lint filter in the dryer; unload the dishwasher; check the recycling and empty if necessary; put away the clean clothes in her room (which will trigger ABJECT ANGUISH, she HATES that job); check if she has any homework that needs completion (it’s the last week of school before winter break, so I expect not); do a ‘global’ tidy-up of the family room, which means everything that isn’t a specific other chore, so mostly it equates to “clear the floor”, which is pretty clear rn – I see maybe 3 little piles of things to move?; and check that the chickens have sufficient food and water, which she will also complain about and may try to swap with her brother. That’s 8 chores, two of which will trigger complaints, one of which is a gimme (the homework), and one of which is a 30-second job (the lint tray).
On any given day, the app might also ask her to do things like clean a toilet, clean a sink (kitchen, laundry or bathroom), dust flat surfaces in a room, tidy one flat surface in a room, water plants, clean a kitchen appliance, wipe down the bench, etc etc etc. (Side note, I love that Sweepy keeps track of how often I want these jobs done for me.)
By contrast, the 14-year-old has a full rota of chores and does more chores than I do these days (which is really not saying much; honestly I think the rabbit does more chores than I do 😛 At least she washes herself daily!). Let’s see what his are today…
Clean laundry sink; check and empty rubbish bin; load the dishwasher; water the two outdoor trees that don’t get rain; global tidy-up of the entryway, which from what I can see will mostly entail running the shopping bags out to the car and putting a travel bag into the master bedroom; dust the flat surfaces in the loungeroom; do his piano practice; tidy up the downstairs sofa – I think there’s crockery that needs bringing to the dishwasher?; feed his fish; put away any clothes in his room that need it; general tidy-up of his floor; check/complete homework (again, doubtful that he has any); dust in his room; tidy the desk in his room (lots of room-focused chores today – he mustn’t have done any in there for a while and they’ve all accumulated – it’s tempting to use my powers as household admin and switch at least some of them out for more household-oriented chores, but eh); do some weeding in the garden (he definitely won’t do this, but it’s nice to have at least one chore I can ‘generously’ delete for them so they feel like they’re getting a win 😀 ); and brush the rabbit. Sixteen chores. Depending on how his day at school went and how tired he is, I may let him drop a few, or relax the standard e.g. “tidy desk” becomes “put three items away off the desk”.
Also I can foresee a swap: rabbit brushing for chicken checking.
Tune in tomorrow for the final instalment 🙂
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