Am I being resonable in expectations of chores for my daughter to do?

Question

My daughter is 6 and 1/2. She is home for hte next 8 weeks for summer. I feel she is old enough that she needs chores to help me out and learn responsbility. Here is what I am asking of her. IN the morning Make her bed , and her little brothers bed. He is 2 and they share a room. Keep laundry in laundry basket, get yourself dressed. Come down , have breakfast, give cats food and water. Her next chore is in the afternoon and she has to empty all the wastebaskets in the house (we have 3). Throught the day I make her keep her things cleaned up, put her dishes in the sink after meals, and often assist me with other small things (pls get me a diaper, pls turn off the hose.......etc......) Also, is it okay if she takes her *sweet* time doing her morning chores (making beds and dressing herself), is it okay if I withold breakfast. If she is effecieitn in my opinion she should only need 15-20 min before she should emerge downstairs fully dressed. If she plays or is slow/lazy,

Answer 1

I think you are on the right track to have a responsible daughter!! My kids are 5 and under and I plan to start all of them having chores at age 6. They already make their beds(the 4 and 5 y/o, not the 2) and dress themselves before they are allowed downstairs. Good Luck!

Answer 2

I think you are doing just fine, but to expect her to get her chores done efficiently and then punish her by not letting her have breakfast is a bit cruel.  Some kids need more guidance, so why not do it with her for a couple of mornings.  Maybe turn on some peppy music and be bop around.  Get her a clock (digital) and let her know that she has to have the beds made, be dressed and ready by a certain time because you are training her to be a big girl for school in the fall.  Make it positive, not DO IT OR ELSE YOU WILL NOT EAT.

If she's still slow about her chores, you are probably going to have to intervene...you know, call out to her, "Ok, have you made the bed, then what's next honey?" to keep her on track.  She is only 6.

Answer 3

I think one chore in the morning and one in the afternoon is sufficient.  Instead of punishing her when she is too slow, try rewarding her when she does it properly.  (For instance if she does her chores timely for a week, then she gets to stay up an extra 1/2 hour on Saturday night, or whatever little reward you think she would like,)

It is reasonable to ask her to routinely dress herself and put her dishes in the sink.

Answer 4

That sounds reasonable. It's a good thing you are having her do a little work rather than laze around.

Answer 5

Its reasonable.

Answer 6

You are expecting way to much from a 6-7 year old. Soon she will be all grown up. Let her enjoy her child hood while it is still there. Again, my son is 9 and I try to get him to do the same things and it still is not done right so I doubt that a 6 year old can figure it out. Be patient and let her help you with the chores so she gets an understanding of them but DO NOT expect her to do them well on her own. She can't feed, bath, clean and dress herself to perfection yet. Its just not reasonable.

Answer 7

I think that this is reasonably.  You are just not letting her eat until all the morning stuff is done right?  Then when she is done you give her breakfast.  She needs to eat this meal, its the most important.  Why do you have her take out the trash everyday?  I would think that this doesn't need to be done everyday, maybe every other.  I think that keeping her room clean and helping out during the day is great I do the same thing with my 6 yr old.

Answer 8

I think it all sounds pretty reasonable, except maybe having to make her brother bed, he should at least have to help her.

As for withholding food, you really shouldn't do that. If she's not downstairs in time then perhaps she has an extra thing to do, like make her own breakfast.

Some of us just run a little slower than other (like me), no matter what my mother did or said I always ran on my own clock...30 years later I still do.

Answer 9

I think is good for kids to learn shores from an early age but I don't think you should withold food from a child. Instead when you give her a time limit and she doesn't make it because she's slaking off you could tell her shes going to bed a bit earlier or not watching a show she wants.

Answer 10

no shes six.

Answer 11

getting her into a routine of chores is gunna be hard, but keep it up with the routine - she is old enough to pick up after herself and help around.

Answer 12

My son is 6 and he has had chores since he was 3...Of course they were all age appropriate...does she get a reward for doing her chores?? I think with-holding meals is NOT okay with-holding snacks is okay..She also needs time to be a CHILD..Here's a lost of the chores that my son does:

1. Make his bed

2. Dress

3. Eat and clean up after himself

4. Feed and give the cats water

5. Go outside and play

6. Pick up toys

7. Take a shower and get ready for bed

And he gets an allowance for doing all his chores. If I need him to help throughout the day then I will ask but I do not require him to help me. It is not his responsibilty to be my servant. He does have a time limit but if he doesnt get it done within the limit then he loses a nickel for every minute he is over. You have to reward them and give them something to look forward to when their chores are done!

Answer 13

You started all that at one time? That's a bit much.

  If she's gonna be home, start off letting her do them at her own pace. Then, when it's closer to school time (say when you start shopping for school stuff so it's in her head) start giving her time restraints.

  I'd make her teach her brother how to make his own bed though...even if it isn't perfect, it's still better for him than letting her take care of him!  Then, it's just her job to let you know if he did it or not....