Reply to Age-appropriate chores for teen girls

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[quote=Anonymous]My answer depends on how many kids you have. But yes, I agree that sole responsibility of cleaning of a bathroom if it’s shared with a dad or a brother is inappropriate. It sends the message that women are in charge of the most basic, gross messes. My mom made me clean all of the bathrooms in the house. I learned to clean well, but I also learned that she valued my brother and dad’s comfort over mine.

We have a downstairs powder room used by everyone and an upstairs 3/4 bath used by everyone. DH is in charge of cleaning the downstairs bathroom because he uses it more and realizes guests will notice if he ignores it.

It’s important to give a mix of daily, once a week, outdoor, and once in a while chores. In a house with both genders, it’s easy to fall into the trap of men getting the time-consuming but occasional, outdoor, contemplative and not urgent chores (raking, mowing, gutters), and women doing the grind of chores that feel like they’re never done because they repeat so frequently (cooking, dishes, putting stuff away, etc).

I try to mix both practical life skills, basic hygiene/cleaning, and building executive functioning skills for my kids.

I think one meal per week is a great start. My DD is younger so her meal-related work includes going through the school lunch menu with me on the weekend, planning dinner meals around that, going into cupboards and the fridge after to take inventory, and writing out the store list.

Add chores that require equipment or tools. Your DD is old enough to learn to use a lawn mower, use a ladder and garden tools, use a vacuum, etc. She needs to learn to care for equipment and tools, too. For example, if she vacuums, she puts it away after with a fresh bag or empty canister, hair and fuzz cleaned off the attachments, and attachments stored away.

I’m shocked by how few of my kids’ friends have chores. Either they’ll figure it out in college and beyond, or the pickings for competent roommates and spouses will be quite slim.[/quote]

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