On Household Chores

[danieldwilliam]

My son, the Captain, recently turned 11.

I think he's ready to do some chores around the house. He's a reasonably sensible and trustworthy eleven year old.

My own experience of turning eleven and picking up some jobs around the house is, I think, not an ideal guide to how this should be done. My mum was a single parent to 4 kids, I'm the eldest. Things were fraught and a not necessarly well thought through.

So what are some reasonable jobs around the house for an eleven year old?

Comments

[mellowtigger]

My parents didn't give an "allowance", but they did pay for chores. I got my spending money from mowing the yard. I think that method fits with the "positive reinforcement" method of training.

(I also saved lunch money instead of eating lunch in the school cafeteria, so I could buy more books. Priorities. LOL!)

[danieldwilliam]

I am genuinely uncertain about this.

On the one hand

I want him to do some chores more or less willingly and paying him for his time is a pretty common incentive.

It seems fair for someone to be paid for their time.

On the other hand

him doing some chores in the house is a contribution to the commonweal

if we are practising a principle of from each according to their means, to each according to their needs he ought to share in the commonwealth of the household through some sort of allowance (I think the kids call it a universal basic income).

I guess I'm torn between some conflicting principles. People should be paid for their work. People should not be paid for contributing to the family household.