by Danielle Reid

Created on: October 31, 2008

When I was a little girl, my brother and I were always helping out around the house. We each had our little duties. My brother's were mainly outside....feeding the animals and, when he was older, mowing the lawn.

Mine were inside...vacuuming and dusting, folding and putting away laundry, and cleaning the bathroom counter and mirror. Yes, I had more responsibilities, and yes, I was the youngest, but at that time girls were still being taught that they are the ones to take care of the home and family. However, in hindsight, many parents would more than likely have chosen to split more household duties. There are quite a few single or stay-at-home dads who would have probably appreciated the knowledge of such responsibilities.

There were a few jobs we did share in. Each night, we took turns setting the table and then clearing it and helping with the dishes. Also, when it was time for the lawn to be mowed, we would walk around the yard with a wheelbarrow picking up all the sticks.

All of these "chores" were made kind of fun for us. Hanging on the refrigerator were two charts...one for each of us and two markers (red and black). What my mother did was take our tasks, along with normal every day "necessities", such as brushing teeth, making beds, etc. and placed them along the left side of the chart. Along the top were the days of the week. The boxes were where we marked X's at the end of each day. A red X if we did the item listed and a black if we didn't.

This chart was useful in more than one way. It was a visual reminder to us what needed to be done, which meant our mother was not required to keep asking us. Also, being able to keep track ourselves and the satisfaction of seeing all that red at the end of the month encouraged us to do exactly what we were supposed to.

Later, when we were in high school, these things were so much a part of our lives, we continued to do them. There was no cute little chart, but there was also still no need to be asked. When I got home from school, I would have a snack, vacuum and dust, and then sit down and fold the laundry while I watched a little television. I even took over some of the cooking every once in a while.

This is the type of responsibility without question that I would like to instill in my own children. They don't have quite so much to do, though. They are asked to keep their room clean, make their beds and put away their clothes after I have folded them. They take turns setting the table. There are instances when my daughter will ask if she can vacuum, dust or wash windows. My son is to pick up his toys, and he likes to help feed the cats and wash the dishes. Most of the time, he will wash and she will put the dishes in the drainer.

At first, we had no chore chart, but as the children began desiring more responsibility and a way to earn money, this changed. Now, our refrigerator sports the same type of chart that once hung on my mother's for my brother and I.

My cousin does her charts a little differently. On her computer, she enters symbols for each task (a dog for feeding and watering the dog, dishes for, of course, washing the dishes, etc.) on the days they need to be done. Her children receive money for each job they do, so at the bottom she places the symbols with the amount of money they will earn next to it. She then prints these out and puts them on the refrigerator.

No matter which way you choose to encourage your children to do their "chores", it is a wonderful thing to be teaching them how to be responsible. These tasks will help them grow into adults who take care of their own homes and pass the satisfaction of accomplishment on to their children.

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