One of the age-old questions for many families is concerning chores and children, to pay or not to pay? Actually, some families still aren’t sure how to handle the whole chore thing. Should children do chores? How much is too much? Should the entire family divide up the household chores?
If you have children, taking care of a home could almost be a full-time job. The more children you have, the more responsibilities you have. Being a wife, mom of three children and a full-time writer I have my share of responsibilities. However what I refuse to do is attempt to be a supermom.
I really can’t do it all. I don’t want to pretend that I can do it all. One area will be neglected if I try to do it all so I refuse to allow that to happen.
So that means everyone helps out. The one person, who is cut some slack, is my husband who works very hard for our family. The great thing is that on his own he will still help out, especially when he is off work. But he also takes care of all the outdoor work, repairs things and works on projects within the home. I feel he does more than his share to contribute to this household.
So with that said, I don’t believe in assigning my husband chores. That is just how our family functions and I realize every family is different with different circumstances and lifestyles.
However the one thing I will not allow is for my children to sail through life not having any responsibilities in the home. We all live here together. We make the messes together and we should clean up together.
So my children receive a new chore card every Monday. I try to do a good job at rotating some chores. This way they are learning new skills and they won’t get bored doing the same chores.
A recent rule I had to put in place was that they couldn’t get on the computer, meet their friend at the park or do anything “fun” until their chores were done. I found things getting put off and suddenly it was a battle to get them done. So now my children are learning to automatically get their chores done before they start their day.
Now what about paying children? Everyone has a different school of thought. For me personally, my children are either in middle school or high school. I really believe they need to have some spending money and they need to learn how to earn it. Chores are a way they work to earn money. Each chore is assigned a specific amount so every week they earn a different amount.
I don’t mind paying them because it frees me from taking on the entire house. It teaches them responsibility. It helps keep the house cleaner. Chores for my family work well. Every family, however, has to decide for themselves what works best. What works best in your family?
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