"All they need to do is get good grades"- meh. My kids spend 30 min or less on chores every day and they still have tons of time for studying and playing. I think chores are just part of being in a family. There was a Harvard study about children who do chores were more successful in life. If you aren't raising kids who do chores and know how to do them, you're raising poor future spouses. https://www.mother.ly/child/child-learn-play/chores-for-kids-can-be-the-key-to-success/

My 10 year old does dishes and empties the dishwasher. She also sets the table.

My 7 year old folds clothes and socks and puts them in everyone's drawers. (I do hang most of our shirts/pants/dresses though, so he's really just folding pajamas, leggings, socks, underwear, athletic clothes)

They both have to keep their bedrooms neat and tidy. We spend 5 min at night on this if it's not already tidy.

There are lots of chores kids can help with:
Scraping plates before putting them in the dishwasher.
Setting and clearing the dinner table
Filling water glasses
Pairing socks when they come out of the wash
Folding laundry
Putting clean laundry on clothes hangers
Making beds
Putting away toys and crafts after using them
Wiping down tables or counters
Walking or feeding pets
Helping with weed pulling
Sweeping

Anonymous wrote:I have never done a household chore because my mom did everything for me. I am still learning to get meal cooked and house organized after 11 years of marriage because I had to figure out everything by myself after I got married. My mom never taught me how to dress up, how to make up, what to do etc. , and she said all I needed to do was to get good grades.

My 10 year old son does not need to do any chore, and so does my 7 year old daughter. Is there anything that they could do at their current ages and any guidance on chore choices by ages till age 18 to learn self care and be independent. I already outsouce some by putting both at cub scout/girl scout, camping, and sleepaway camps.

It was shameful to find out that my son could not even fold a towel because I am like my mom doing everything for them. They may need motivation or incentive to do chores.

1000 percent Asian Tiger

Your kids are old enough to help fold laundry, set and clear the table, water plants, feed pets, make their beds, tidy their rooms, cook simple meals, help empty the dishwasher, vacuum, sweep, and dust, Windex windows, etc.

My 12 year old takes out trash and recycling, cleans his room when asked, washes dishes, makes his own lunch on weekends (Pbj so easy)

My 7 year old cleans her room when asked (though with heavy help from us), loves mopping the floor and cleaning windows though uses half the bottle of cleaner.

Mine do their own laundry starting at 10 (before that they sorted and put away their own stuff). Tidy their rooms and the common areas. Put dishes in the dishwasher and wash dishes after dinner.

It's probably not enough, TBH. In the summer we have them each plan at least one full meal to make and serve to the family. My older two love to plan meals so it's fun for them. My youngest does not enjoy it, so it's absolutely a chore, but he needs to learn how to do this stuff, so here we are

Mine has never folded a towel but I am pretty sure she could
At 8 she was responsible for bringing in the trash and recycling once a week, getting the mail daily, and feeding the dogs after school, oh, and emptying the dishwasher.
She is 13 now and walks the dogs 3x a week in the mornings.
That’s it for what I consider chores.
She’s always made her bed, kept room tidy , put own laundry away, and other stuff as asked.

They should be making their beds each morning, they can make their lunch for school, they can take their used plates to the counter next to the sink. they can unload the dishwasher, fold laundry, sweep floors, the boy should be fully independent in the shower and capable of getting fully ready for the day without help, they are both old enough to clean their bedrooms.

They can take out trash and recycling and put new trash bags in, wipe the table after meals, set the table for meals, get simple meals like cereal, fruit, sandwiches, etc. Reheat leftovers in the microwave.

Here are some basic chores and self care I reinforce for my 8 year old:

- Tidying her room. When it gets very messy I will help because I know it gets overwhelming, but I expect small messes to be cleaned up by her and will also remind her to do periodic tidying specifically to avoid it getting overwhelmingly messy.

- Folding and putting away clothes. I still do her laundry but she mostly folds and puts it away. When she's very busy with schoolwork I will fold it for her but then leave it on her bed to put it away. She is also responsible for making sure her dirty clothes go in the hamper and the hamper goes in the laundry room when full.

-Setting table and clearing her dishes after meals. Now that she's tall enough to use the sink without dragging out a stool, we are also asking her to rinse off her plate and put it in the dishwasher.

- Making bed most days (I'm not a stickler about this during the school year because mornings are sometimes rushed, but I am a stickler in the summer and on weekends).

- Cleaning out backpack at the end of each day, tossing any trash, putting lunch box where it needs to go to be ready for the next day, etc.

In addition to these daily chores, she also helps DH and I with chores on an as needed basis around the house. Like she often helps with dinner prep or baking, will help me collect and move laundry around, and helps with yard work by sweeping surfaces or collecting clippings or weeds and putting them in the yard refuse bins.

Regarding self care, she mostly showers alone, though I do her shampoo and supervise rinsing it out on wash days. I tried having her do it but she was just missing a lot and the result was dandruff from shampoo she failed to rinse out, or just unevenly cleaned hair. I'll try again in 6 months to see if she can do it on her own -- sometimes I try to assign something to her and realize she still just doesn't have the size or dexterity for it, but you have to keep trying until it clicks.

A 6 year old can be folding towels. Not perfectly, but yes those kids need chores!

Make beds (if that's important to you. It's not to me, but I require bedding off the ground).

Scrape and put own dishes in sink. If we eat together, kid can also clear my dishes.

Feed dog or cat.

Fold towels. Put own clean laundry away, if you have folded it. You can have them fold if you don't mind imperfect or you can have them hang most clothing.

Carry dirty laundry down , carry clean laundry up.

Occasional vacuuming, taking out garbage, helping with cooking, etc. when asked.

I have never done a household chore because my mom did everything for me. I am still learning to get meal cooked and house organized after 11 years of marriage because I had to figure out everything by myself after I got married. My mom never taught me how to dress up, how to make up, what to do etc. , and she said all I needed to do was to get good grades.

My 10 year old son does not need to do any chore, and so does my 7 year old daughter. Is there anything that they could do at their current ages and any guidance on chore choices by ages till age 18 to learn self care and be independent. I already outsouce some by putting both at cub scout/girl scout, camping, and sleepaway camps.

It was shameful to find out that my son could not even fold a towel because I am like my mom doing everything for them. They may need motivation or incentive to do chores.