Jobs around the house

So for christmas my mil gave the boys some banks, with money in it to save and some cash to spend. We have been talking about earning money, saving money and spending money. I am looking for ideas for things the boys can do around the house to "earn" money as they are already talking about what they are going to buy next. DH says that there should be a difference between what they do to earn money vs things that they are expected to do...like pick up their toys and I agree to some extent but dont know where that line is.

Any suggestions?
Thanks

 

My boys are the same age. I've been thinking of making a chore chart for them. I'll be interested to read these replies.

 

My children aren't expected to do a whole lot, they put their dishes in the dishwasher, they put their clothes in the hamper. The things I give them money for are when they do things without being asked like when one of my children volunteers to help with the laundry or when another sets the table for dinner. Money is only earned when the are not asked to do it.

 

I agree with your husband that there should be chores that children do just as a member of the family and household that don't earn them money. You could come up with a list of things they can help with and assign an amount of money for those things that they'll earn if they do them in addition to their regular chores. They could help sort whites from colors in the laundry, rake leaves, help sort recycling items, dust in areas where there aren't breakable things, etc. Your guys are kind of young, so I'm having trouble coming up with too many things, but it's a start. I know with my kids, the novelty wears off fairly quickly and they'll go for a while without wanting to do anything extra and then it will kick in again. Also, I have my kids help with cleaning up before we're having guests or something like that, and they don't necessarily get extra cash for that because they've helped to make the mess and, again, it's part of being a member of the family. My kids do get allowance as well.

 

My 4 yo helps me unload the dishwasher. I take all the sharp knives out of the cutlery basket and let him sort the spoons/ forks/ butterknives/ wooden spoons whisk and spatulas into the drawers. He also hands me the bowls and cups one-at-a-time as I stand by the cabinet and put them up. I have him fold washclothes and handtowels. He is in charge of getting the mail and taking the netflix movies out to the mailbox (we live on a dead-end road, so I don't have to worry about traffic). Sometimes I let him "help" me wash dishes by pulling a chair and rinse off the dishes I wash. But never any big things, just plates, cups and tupperware, and it's usually alot of waterplay along with work. I have a rainbow vacume cleaner and he loves to vacume. He first helps me pick up everythng from the floor (and usually throw it on the couch) then he gets to do the middle of the room and I go behind him and get along the walls and tight spots. He helps me windex. I either let him spray and I wipe, or I spray and he wipes (we take turns). I always approach it as being my helper instead of chores. He doesn't seem interested in money rewards. But I may try to start teaching him about earning and spending money.

 

*Clear or set the table
*Unload the dishwasher of all plastics (which go in a low drawer), silverware, and everything else they can reach.
*Vacuum. We have a central vac, and my 5 year olds know how to plug it into the wall, and use the hose (not the brush attachment that spins) to vacuum along baseboards, under the table, and any specific messes.
*Use a Lysol wipe to sanitize doorknobs, railings, etc. We do this regularly, as my oldest son has cancer and we need to keep things germ free. The boys all adore taking a wipe and running around the house wiping things down!
*Put their things away.
*Bring their laundry to the laundry room. I've tried having them put their laundry away, but I'm too obsessive about things lying flat in drawers - they just stuff everything in! We'll get to that task in a year or two.
*'Babysit' their baby brother. When I need a few minutes to do a task, I will tell them I need them to 'babysit' Jake in his bedroom. They play with him and read to him - they take their 'responsibility' very seriously!
*Carry trash to the outside trash can - for lighter sacks, of course! We leave the heavy ones for our older boys!

We've just started a 'ticket' system in our family that is working really well! Before they go to school, each boy is responsibile for tidying their room, making their bed, and getting themselves dressed and ready for the day. If they do those things, I go in later in the day and put a 'ticket' on their pillow (the tickets are just a roll of yellow carnival tickets I bought at Staples). Before we started the system I had each boy come in and tell me what they would like to earn. They came up with SO MANY great ideas! Things like 'go for a jeep ride with just dad' and 'sleep outside on the trampoline'. We do have some things they can earn that cost money, as well. For instance, 6 tickets can be traded in for a treat at the store. Ten tickets are a trip to the dollar store, etc...... Six tickets are worth about $1.00, so anything my kids wanted to earn, I figured at that rate. A pack of Pokemon cards is 18 tickets, since it costs about $3. A new video game is 200 tickets. We even have HUGE things on our list - a trip to Hawaii is several thousand tickets. Anyhow, I don't know if that's interesting to you, at all, but it's the best system we've tried so far!

 

Thanks for the suggestions. So far I have come up with-

water plants (supervised of course)
fold and put away laundry or sort, depending on what I need done.
dust and general cleaning (i have one boy who LOVEs to clean)
soux chef tasks...help me cook

our mail box is across the busy road and we dont have a dishwasher. otherwise those would have been good ideas. They have been carrying plates to the counter and helping set the table...but those are "family" tasks, as well as cleaning up their toys.

I like the ticket idea...i will have to think about that for a while. There will be more in spring once we can get out side...it has been darn cold!

Thanks!

 

One other thing they can do is put new garbage bags in after you take the garbage out. My son loves to do this. He's been doing it since he was 4.

 

My 5 yo clears the table and makes her bed. She also likes to help me fold laundry - her specialty is washcloths, but she's becoming very good at sorting and folding socks.

I also have "extra" chores that are worth a certain amount of $ so she can earn a little if she wants to. Usually it's anywhere from 10 cents to a Quarter for each task.