Slave labor? A list of chores posted in photos incited some "slave labor" comments. I'm interested in the thought…

Love your style squishy. My daughter does not get an allowance yet but she has her set of chores. She loves working as a family. I wash the clothes she folds both hers and her little sisters clothes. she washes her own dishes without being told. She is 5 and the only reason she doesnt get "paid for chores" is because I wanted her to know the importance of working as a family. I really did not know responsibiliy is slavery. If thats the case both my husband and I are former slaves so we wish to continue the trend.

I would pay my kids an allowance when theyre old enough - nothing huge though, maybe $5-10 a week depending on age and how well behaved they are. I think it helps kids learn the value of money and that hard work pays off.

I got the impression that that person was just being facetious when she said that, but I could be wrong

I won't make my kids do a outrageous amount of chores. Barely any really. Kids should be kids and be taken care by their parents. Their parents should clean cook etc after them. When they start to become teenagers I'll give more stuff to do if they arnt working.

Let children be children

The only chores I ask Is

Keep your room and you room tidy (at end if each day)

Bring over your dishes . I ask them to not create huge messes and they're pretty good at keeping messes to a minimum

Occasionally I ask the kids to; put away the silverware and set the table but not often

I'll add...my kids don't get an allowance. We don't pay them for being a contributing member of the household. They can earn money by doing extra things, like painting my walls, cleaning the gutters or washing the car...but in general they don't get paid to help around the house.

Tuesday that's a great idea!

My kids are 9 &10 and what I do is list each chore by room and number them.

The harder chores have higher numbers. I don't show them the list. I have them pick a room and a number then tell them the chore. Once they complete the chore, whatever number was assigned to it is given to that child as points.

They get $5 for every 100 points or can use their points to buy treats or scrapbook/craft supplies from me.

They LOVE it!!!

I thought that was crazy so many people thinking the list was crazy! I did all that and more when I was growing up washing dishes twice a day for a family of five cooking dinner cleaning the entire house every weekend. I hated it when I was doing it but I see why my mom had me doing it. I do plan on doing it differently with my son she criticized my every move which made it so much more hated by me. My son is 21 months old and already puts his clothes in the dirty hamper, picks up his toys every night, he throws his diapers in the trash and generally just follows me and helps. I look at it as raising him to be a responsible member of society I refuse to raise brats that are slobs and leave their messes for mommy to clean. I have seen so many people in this forum complaining about how much cleaning they do for their family with no help and I think that's the fools way teach your kids some responsibility!

I think the key is to make the chores fun and rewarding. Of you treat a chore as a punishment, of course your child will hate it. My dd had a blast picking up dog crap last weekend lol

My kids LOVE weeding. They've all be doing yard work since a very young age. The little weeds are perfect for tiny hands ?

I agree thay the list didnt seem very age appropriate (like a 4-5 year old weeding), but definitely not slave labor.

Chores = appreciative children who turn into adults with proper skills such as time management and responsibility.

Oh and as a bonus, they tend to be the adults with clean laundry and a bathroom that doesnt try to eat you when you pee.

My daughter has been doing chores since she was 3, and she loves them. She loves having responsibility and loves the praise she gets when she completes a task! She's almost 6 now and her chore tasks increase as she gets older. I hardly think I'm hurting her or turning her into a slave.

I used to think I was a slave when I was a kid because I had to do so many chores. Obviously I wasn't even close to it.

But now I actually know how to clean and keep my house spotless, unlike many adults I know.

Not at all! It teaches responsibility, and consequences for their actions! (Don't pick up your clothes so I can do laundry, no clean clothes, for example) It teaches pride for one's things, and for their living space. Chores teach children discipline-no tv till your room is clean.

Chores only set children up for success in the future when they live on their own, and it does contribute to the household. We need more parents to take action and make children do chores! It's not slave labor at all!

I think not having at least a couple responsibilities can lead to spoiled people. If you grow up with mommy literally doing everything, you're going to have a hard time adjusting to the real world.

And just because there is some idea list floating around doesn't mean it's an all or nothing list. I've seen discussions over chore lists before and it always seems people take it to mean you child must do all the chores on it. No just use some thinking skills and tailor it to how you run things.

I liked the list. It wasn't a list of ALL the chores they should do. It was showing what chores they're capable of in each age group. You only have to pick like one or two things from the list. Or more, if you're a real tyrant. ;)

I think it's good to teach them responsibility! While some of the things seemed excessive for some people's children (5 year olds vacuuming), I think it really depends on the child. My mum coddled my little sister a bit (she had her with her new husband, so her parenting techniques changed a bit to suit his), and at age 5 she definitely wouldn't be doing half of those things. But my niece when she was 3 probably could have vacuumed! No joke haha. All depends on the kid and the parent.

My mom never made us do chores. She was a sahm and even cleaned our rooms for us. She passed away when I was 19, and I had to teach myself how to do a lot of things. Like wash clothes, cook, etc. I wish I wouldve learned those responsibilities younger. So I make my kids do chores. I feel it makes them more independent and shows them that good things come from good work.

I certainly don't think chores = slave labor. I don't particularly like that specific list though.... I've seen some others that I think are a bit more age appropriate. Not hugely different but just a few things.

No! I had chores everyday and now my house is always clean. When my son is inf enough you bet your butt he will be doing she appropriate stuff.. I'm not s slave he can clean after himself

Lol, lock your child up with very little food, no clean clothes, no heat or ac, and crack that whip. That's when you'll see a slave. A child that does chores is NOT a slave. I haven't seen the other post. Off to find it.

I don't think the spoiled entitled children come from not doing chores but parents not disciplining their children... telling the child that has done wrong that he/she was naughty and not to do that again, and let that be the discipline.. To me that's a lot to do with spoiled children... I do agree in chores though.. you fed, clothe, bathe, and give your child everything.. they in return can help you with household chores

I guess it depends on the family. My fiance was an only child so he grew up with everything handed to him and never having to lift a finger. I on the other hand was the oldest of six kids and at 7 was washing dishes and cooking for a family of eight. I never felt like a slave and now that I'm older I'm so glad I was raised that way. It has made me more responsible and organized in my everyday home life now. So no I don't think chores = slaves unless the parent is just lazy and expects everything to be done by a child.

I don't think chores = slaves but I felt the list was too long but that doesn't mean my son won't be doing some of what's on it when he's old enough. I guess coming from my household my mom did everything even cleaned my room. So that might be why I think it's too much for children that young but chores are good for kids. It gets them ready for life.