Having an 8 Year Old Help with Chores

[Lotuspetal_uk]

Just wanted to seek the advice from parents of older children:

HRH is now 8 and I've been blessed with expecting another child. I realised today that when the baby comes, there'd certainly be a few weeks when I may not be in a position to do the scale of chores that I currently do.

I had been expecting dh to take up the slack for me in terms of household chores but his response was "HRH is lazy and she should be doing more around the house". My reply back was that I asked him what he'd be doing if she took over doing what I'm currently doing (my stance was that I would not expect her to be cooking, cleaning the whole house, vacuuming, taking care of the cats, washing clothes, hanging out the clothes etc). To which he said he'd be sleeping and getting up to go to work.

On the one hand I accept that my spouse is talking out of his rear end on him imagining that our 8 yr old does what he should do (given that I did more holding down a full time job and bringing up HRH when he wasn't around) and I have calmed down sufficiently tonight to go to sleep by midnight.

But on the main point of this thread, what would you guys feel would be the kinds of chores I could introduce to HRH appropriate for her current age.

She can and enjoys making her own breakfast in the morning (Cereals and toast) and so far I only ask her to make sure her room is kept tidy (no toys and clothes left on the floor). Occasionally she will feed the cats but I prefer to still clean out the bowls.

Have any of you guys gotten your 8 year old to do other things?

God bless and thanks for any helpful advice.

 

[FaithPrevails]

My 9 yr old has been doing/helping with the following chores for over a year now:

Running the vacuum cleaner
Putting away clean clothes (I/DH fold them)
Wiping down the bathroom vanity (he refuses to swish the toilet bowl, though )
Sweeping/raking outdoors
Feeding pets (dog/bird/fish) - he does require some help with cleaning the food containers for the dog and bird
Make the bed
Clean up toys/put dirty clothes in the hamper
Assist with cooking dinner (he loves this one!)

 

[Erinwilcox]

My mom always had us (starting at around 7 or 8) help her with the clothes (folding and putting away), a bathroom (my sister and I would each take one and be responsible for cleaning it all), cleaning the kitchen (we alternated this), emptying the dishwasher in the mornings, and helping her with various other things. Some chores were just for Saturday mornings--the faster you got them done, the faster you could play--and some were for every day.

My mom worked so hard that we didn't mind helping out most of the time!

 

[Lotuspetal_uk]

My 9 yr old has been doing/helping with the following chores for over a year now:

Running the vacuum cleaner
Putting away clean clothes (I/DH fold them)
Wiping down the bathroom vanity (he refuses to swish the toilet bowl, though )
Sweeping/raking outdoors
Feeding pets (dog/bird/fish) - he does require some help with cleaning the food containers for the dog and bird
Make the bed
Clean up toys/put dirty clothes in the hamper
Assist with cooking dinner (he loves this one!)

Thank you FP - in a way I guess I'm nearly there. It's great to see also that I can include helping with the cooking. I tried that the other night whereby she was given the task of washing the potatoes as I peeled them and we both enjoyed doing that.

Aside from cooking and vacuuming I'm pretty much on the right track which is a relief

Thank you and God bless

 

[Lotuspetal_uk]

My mom always had us (starting at around 7 or 8) help her with the clothes (folding and putting away), a bathroom (my sister and I would each take one and be responsible for cleaning it all), cleaning the kitchen (we alternated this), emptying the dishwasher in the mornings, and helping her with various other things. Some chores were just for Saturday mornings--the faster you got them done, the faster you could play--and some were for every day.

My mom worked so hard that we didn't mind helping out most of the time!

Thanks Erin I suppose I've also got to just incorporate a little more routine into HRH's tasks such as Saturday morning chores etc as opposed to the ad hoc way that we do things now.

You both helped me with your contributions here, thank you again.