11 Year Old Chores

My 4, 6, and 8 year old have had chorse since they were born...we have always taught them to pick up after themselves...doesn't work so well some days :).

We rotate weekly with vacuuming the living room, bringing the dirty clothes to the laundry, and wiping the table and counters after meals. These are easy things that all need done either daily or every other day.

They also help with unloading the dishwasher, loading their own dishes, changing and taking out the trash, putting their pajamas/underwear/socks away, my dauther loves to mop, the all like to dust the stairs, hanging up their own coats and keeping their shoes out of sight, etc.

I'm with some of the others in saying that we are a family and it takes all of us to have things running smoothly. If we don't all pitch in, the house becomes a mess. Like it is now :).

I dont see any reason why an 11 year-old wouldnt be capable of helping you - what a great opportunity to show how much you respect her for by giving her more responsibility. I hate when parents use chores to punish their kids or reward them by not having chores. Hard work and success lead to greater responsibility, not less. Let her know how much you appreciate her help and perhaps allow her to choose a few chores from a list you provide or allow her to do more of her own personal chores like laundry. I have a feeling if she chooses which chores, she'll have some ownership in the plan.

My 9yr old and my 5yr old both hang all of their shirts and put their own laundry away. (I do the sorting for my 5yo) My 9yo is comfortable loading the dryer. They both are responsible for clearing toys and other playthings from living areas. They are also both responsible for making sure their rooms and bathroom are tidy . . . towels hung, counter clean and toilet/floor clean (more or less) by the time they go to bed and for getting all of their clothes into the hamper. My 9yo also empties the small wastebaskets on trash day.

My son is six and his regular, household chores are:

-set and clear table
-take out trash and recycling
-tidy bedroom
-put away clean laundry (I fold it, he just takes it to his room and puts it away)
-bring in the mail

However, he ALSO has "Help Mommy" and "Help Chris (step-dad)" on his chart, so he has to do ONE thing not on his regular list for each of us.

The nice thing about "Help Mommy" is you can just ask her to do the chore you need that day, and it IS her job because it's her job to help.

Don't be hesitant.

HTH
T.

Yes it is typical. Well when my daughter was this age I taught her how to wash clothes. So she was responsible for washing her own clothes. She also cleaned the kitchen everyday after dinner. To include dishes, sweeping, counters and stove. And of course she was responsible for cleaning her room. When she became a teenager I added chores such as cleaning the bathroom on weekends and vacuuming the house. I started her with a small allowance which increased over the years.Now that she's a teenager she ask for money all the time anyways so allowance stops her from asking all of the time.

My 12 year old changes his own sheets, dusts and vacuums his room every weekend. Both my kids started this at 9-10 years old. They also folded their old laundry at that age.. The 12 year old empties the dishwasher and the wastebaskets. He does pet care, brings up wood from the wood pile, shovels when there is snow. He vacuums the family room and alternates cleaning his bathroom with his sister. He does his own wash sometimes (the 16 always does her own). When you say "guest" bathroom, is it the bathroom she uses? I would not use a kid to clean guest-only areas or take care of the mess from your business unless you pay her for that. She is certainly old enough to do more for herself, like the actual cleaning of her room and fold/put away own laundry!

Here is how we work chores in our house. I have it broken down into two categories; daily maintenance and chores.

Daily maintenance is stuff that you have to do every day, put your clothes in the hamper, make your bed, dishes, quickie wipe down of the bathroom each morning, toy pick up, etc. Each person in our family is responsible for these items.

Chores are items over and above daily maintenance such as, vacuuming, dusting, laundry, floors, etc. At our house we do have a different chore every day and each kid gets one. For example, my oldest (11) has to vacuum the living room, stairs and the upstairs while my next oldest (6) dusts the same areas. The next day they may have the stairs going down, the family room and sunroom to dust and vacuum.

Hopes this helps.

Sounds very typical for this age, I would go further and show her how to do her own laundry, then fold it and put it away. As she gets into the swing of that add additional chores, it's part of her responsibility to her family, plus it''s teaching her skills she will use the rest of her life, very normal.

Why are you hesitant?
I raised two kids as a single mom and they didn't have chore "lists", it was just a matter of things needing to be done.
I worked full time so you can imagine that I wasn't sitting home eating bon-bons in platform heals all day. It took us as a team to make things work.
From early on, I taught my kids to cook which paid off big time. My youngest is now 16 and often has dinner started before I get home. He's an amazing cook. Plus, he likes it. He cooks. I clean. Not a bad arrangement.

Your daughter is well old enough to wash her own laundry or at the very least get it out of the dryer and put it away properly.
I never approached such things as chores. It's just part of what needs to be done.
By that age, my kids were mowing the lawn and taking out the trash on trash night and and scrubbing the shower in their bathroom. They vacuumed, dusted, helped me wash windows and dishes.

Your kid may respond well to a schedule, but we never had charts or anything like that. Just a routine. The night before garbage day, the frig got cleaned, the trash was taken out, the dishwasher loaded and emptied, the never ending supply of laundry. They BOTH were well versed in laundry protocol.
Like I said, I worked full time so it was just second nature for them to pitch in to help make sure we got the things done that needed to be done.

After a while, I didn't even have to ask them. It just becomes part of what you do.

Start with a list. She may respond well with that. I never needed one in a formal sense. But, I started my kids with doing things much younger.
Out of necessity, really.

"Chores" don't harm kids at all.

Just my opinion.

My 7 and 14 year old boys have had chores since they could walk, maybe before that. It's part of being a family. Since it's been that way forever, neither of them complains about it. It's how our family functions smoothly, and how they are learning to become functioning members of society.

Our 7 year old does the following, and I'll probably forget some:
Feeds the pig (we live on a farm)
Makes his bed
Puts away toys
Puts his dishes in the dishwasher
Puts his clothes in hamper/helps fold clothes/put them away
Takes sheets off bed for washing
Cleans air vents and baseboards

Our 14 year old:
Feeds the dog
Makes his bed
Puts his dishes in the dishwasher
Puts his clothes in hamper/helps fold clothes/put them away
Takes sheets off bed for washing and puts them back on
Vacuums the house
Swiffers his room
Helps cook/clean the kitchen

Both boys help with outdoor chores a ton, too.

I think that is a wonderful idea. I have a son who is 9yrs. He has an itinerary happy chart is what we call it this check list has to be done in the morning before school and after school morning consists of: making bed , making sure room is tidy afternoon: have snack, do homework, read 30mins , pick out clothes for the next day and clean up mess made that day. His other chart is called the money making chart: It has Monday-Friday cleaning room for the week is .20 cents, cleaning bathroom for the week is .50 cents, vacuuming is .20cents doing laundry is .50cents helping mother cook .10cents picking up pine cones 1.00. Everyone might think that he has to much on his plate but it works provides consistency , discipline and overall flow in our home and Structure!!! which parents and children love. And, sets a very good template at such a young age that as they get older you will not have the issues that most parents have I hope I have helped it works for us and maybe it will work for you have a fabulous day .

By 11 my kids were washing their own clothes (they each have a day of the week when they wash, dry and fold their laundry, including sheets and towels). They also have two days a week when they have to empty and reload the dishwasher.

They also have one day a week when they have to clear the table (opposite days of having to do dishes). The youngest has her laundry day and one day to help with dishes and several days to help with the table.

They also need to keep their rooms and the toy room clean. This includes vacuuming. Hope that helps!