Women at work and their tips, challenges, advice, complaints, and experiences

Crystal over at Biblical Womanhood recently asked the following of her blog visitors:

"At what age did you begin assigning chores for your children? What sorts of chores did you assign them when they were little? Do you have a set system for divvying up chores at your home? What has worked best for you - chore charts, chore cards, something else? I'd love to glean some ideas in this area."

Here are my thoughts on the matter, and the chores my kids were expected/taught to do as toddlers (Crystal's older daughter is 2 1/2 now):

I expected my girls to start helping out at just about this age.  With my then-stepdaughter, we met at about 20 months and I married her father when she was about 2 1/2.  When she was in my home she was expected to carry her empty plates/cups to the kitchen after a snack or meal, to replace toys/books in their proper spots after she used them (if she could reach the storage space for the item), and to put away her belongings in a storage spot in the car as well.

My daughter has been expected to do the same, and my son, when he's old enough, will have the same rule.  Additionally, when the girls were about 3 or so I taught them to "make" their beds on their own.  This didn't consist of hospital corners or crisp pillowcases; instead it is simply a request for them to do their best.  Making the bed means removing any stuffed animals or dolls, pulling the sheet and blanket up to the top of the bed as neatly as they are able, and replacing any toys they want to sleep with that night.  Obviously this can lead to some rather rumpled bedclothes as they will climb across the bed to pull the covers up, but all I care about is that they make a valid attempt.  It gets better as they age.  ;-)

The other thing I taught each child to do was to sort their own laundry.  I taught them colors and clothing names by using a white basket for whites/lights and a dark green basket for darks.  Kids this age are great helpers, or at least they hope to be, and honestly this helped a lot when my step-daughter was a preschooler and I was recovering from a C-section from my daughter's delivery!  The older girl would push the baskets into the laundry room for me and hand me items to put into the washer; when it was time to dry the load I would pull the clothing out and she'd put it in the dryer for me.  This tag-team method saved me a lot of pain during recover as I didn't have to lift the baskets or bend over a million times grabbing the wash!

I don't use any particular incentive in these instances because I believe that each member of the family should be expected to do what they are able, at the best they are able, to help the household run smoothly.  My husband is the one best able to lift heavy objects, so everybody knows that's his "job".  I grew up in a household where Mommy always does the laundry, so that's what I do.  My kids are charged with keeping up their belongings, just as we adults have to do.  Otherwise a lost or broken item is punishment in itself to a child who frequently ignores the expectation and reminders of it; a simple "thank you for doing XYZ; great job!" is reward enough.  Call me a mean momma, but I'm of the mind that my employers aren't going to praise me for every task I was hired to complete - they are only going to pass on compliments or praise if I perform above expectations. 

Now, mind you, there are treats (like dessert before dinner or a dime here and there for the piggybank) when a child really wows me or consistently performs her tasks without being asked - but that's the exception, not the rule.

What jobs were you charged with, and at what age, when you were a Workerette-to-be?  What do you expect of your kids, and what do you think is beyond the scope of a child's responsibilities at a young age?  This has made me curious!