General Chat

i have 3 boys aged 9,7,3 and all ia sk off my 9&7 yrolds is keep their rooms tidy but they say "its not fair" but i know kids who do the dishes put the bin out do their rooms ,what do you ask your kids to do and do you think maybe its my job to do their rooms?

When we were that age my mum used to make us earn our pocket money by doing housework for her,polishing the floors tidying our rooms ,mowing lawns.It didn,t do us any harm ,and didn,t do my children any harm,you could always give it a try.Fred.

Hi Kylie mine have all left home now, but they used to have to earn their pocket money, tidying their rooms stripping their beds, washing or drying up i used to help them with the chores it got done quicker and make a game of it, once they were teenagers i refused to do there rooms and if the laundry wasn't bought down it didn't get done, they went through an untidy stage then decided they couldn't live like it. My boys reguarly come to see me and they cut the lawn, as they know its difficult for me, and walk the dog, my girls are great too they always pop the kettle on and ask if theres anything i need doing, especially on my bad weeks. my sons partner was moaning about her 13 yr old yesterday, he won't do anything and is so rude, so i told her to write the chores down, add a price for each item for pocket money and every time hes lippy or swears at her to deduct a certain amount agreed at the beginninng of the chart, he was not a happy chappy when i left and said its not fair. but then what is to teenagers. sandra

well my eldest son was brought up in army quarters, no posters on bedroom walls, no hot cups on polished furniture, shoes always left at front door, and I made him switch the lights on with his elbows so as not to mark the walls. Luckily he had woods nearby where he could play in safety and let off steam. Result when we finally settled in Civvy street , he was like Cinderella going to the ball and his room was always a tip. Youngest son was allowed much more freedom, and now keeps his flat immaculate. must be a moral in there somewhere.

hi kylie my eldest daughter did nothing , apparentley she told my freind why should she clean up when its not her mess, well who,s cup, washing rubbish etc is lying around. Their bedroom is a lot tidier since she has been at her dads. my youngest daughter 7 puts washing in washer , puts things away etc. tracy

Hi Kylie, My two teenagers don't do much at all, if I ask one of them to load or unload the dishwasher they complain and think they're hard done by!! I suppose it's my own fault really, I should have put my foot down when they were younger but when I was a kid I had to do loads of work for my mum and thought it was unfair. My daughter does keep her room spottlessly clean and tidy though so that's something to be grateful for!!!

My 15 year old has to feed the cat every night - although if you don't actually tell her to do it, she doesn't! If I ask her to do anything else like put some washing in or load the dishwasher, it is usually met by 'oh for Gods sake' and a flounce. My 7 year old is currently hoovering through downstairs - and she asked if she could do it! Jeanette

Hi Kylie, you are lucky--your children are young enough to start a new 'regimen'! I am a nanny, and looked after 3 boys the same age as yours (left them last year after 11 happy years). I started early on, giving small manageable jobs to suited to each child's age. I would have the next oldest teach the younger one how to dust the playroom or set the table. I introduced the concept of teamwork--I would say "Let's all use 'teamwork' and tidy the house together. That way it's done much quicker and we can go out for the day/a picnic/play a game". I found if you start early it becomes a habit. I would explain to them that they all lived in the house, not just the grown ups, and that they should therefore all contribute to the running of the house. They used to actually enjoy it--we would all race around doing our jobs and chatting. By age 10, the eldest could hoover, and the two youngest would occasionally dust. I also expected them to take responsiblity for their own mess--tidy their plates away after meals, load them into the dishwasher, tidy their own toys, occasionally strip their beds. None of these little jobs took them long, but it certainly made my life easier and taught them to take pride in their 'work'. Hope this helps! My little lads are still gorgeous cuddly boys--seeing them tomorrow and I can't wait!

My children are 11, 14 and 16. The youngest feeds the cats (5) and dogs (2) every morning and night. The middle one empties the dishwasher and refills it mornings and tea times. The older one walks the dog, changes cat litter and any other wee chores I can persuade her to do. They all get pocket money on a Saturday provided they have done their chores. There's still a lot of "why is it always me" and "how come he/she can't do it" but it works quite well.........most of the time. Eileen

Zilch. zero, nought , nothing.

My kids are now adult and have left home but when they were young we used a 'star' system where they were given stars for every job they did (voluntarily) each star equated to 10p (this was 25 years ago!!!) and they were paid at the end of the week. If there was a lot of their 'debris' all over the house I would warn them that it was 'black bag day' tomorrow and everything that was not tidied away was put into the bag. If they wanted it back - they had to pay me !! Amazing how quickly they learned not to leave things lying around.

Hi Kylie I have a 12 yr old girl and a 7 yr old boy. My daughter is a neat freak and her room is more immaculate than mine lol. She walks feeds washes and grooms her dog. Clears the table away after each meal and hovers the landing after doing her own room on a Saturday for her pocket money. My son feeds his cat, cleans his fish tank out ( with the help of daddy lol) lays the table for meals and checks everyday that there is loo roll in the bathrooms for his pocket money. Never once have they grumbled. In fact my son would love to do us our breakfasts at the weekend and wash up breakfast dishes, I just don't think I can deal with the aftermath LOL! Much happiness debi