Children not helping in the home

My grandsons love doing their allocated chores.

Don't tinies just love "helping" - littlest fella (2) collected clothes pegs in a bag for me recently and was very proud of himself, "more peg, Gwanny!"
I do wonder if part of it is because mums are at home less, so "chores" are either done by a cleaner or after the children are in bed as Mum is out at work all day. Which brings me to another point, that of children amusing themselves (if not helping) while Mum (or Dad!) hoovers/washes up etc. If parents only offer so-called quality time, i.e. playtime when they are with their children, of course the little ones come to expect it.

gracesmum I can identify with mums doing the housework when the children are in bed as this is the route that I took when they where younger and I worked full time,I found I could so much in an hour once they where in bed than if they where downstairs,it enabled me to do the prep for the next days meals and have washing etc in machine ready for the line the next morning,I had my cleaner come in on a Friday (my present to myself)which left DH and I free to spend the whole week-end with the children as they got older they where responsible for their own rooms and walking the dogs when necessary.

Apart from Finn (21/2 months), all my grandchildren (10, 8, 5, and 4) are expected to make their own beds, keep their bedrooms tidy and put their toys away. The older two are expected to empty the dishwasher in the morning and put everything away, to lay the breakfast and dinner table and to clear and wipe the table afterwards. One of the older two will usually help the four-year-old get dressed. I think the eight-year-old would love to help with more cooking but this isn't terribly practical until absentgrana lives nearby. The five-year-old likes to help hang out the washing and the older two are responsible for bringing it in – and there is, inevitably, a lot of it!

If they don't do their chores, they don't get their pocket money.

My children had to tidy their rooms and help with dishes, polishing, and putting their clothes in the washing basket from an early age. By the time they were in school, their chores resulted in pocket money. My little grandsons (nearly 4) love nothing more than washing the dishes, and they make quite a good job of it.

I saw David Beckham being interviewed on Father's Day, and he said his boys all have chores to do, and pocket money is given on condition they do them. Wonder how much they get?

when I can imagine him being very grounded as to how he raises his boys as he would not like them to be perseved as being very spoilt boys and reminding them that not everything is given on a plate without a bit of work involved,good for him he is a good role model I think even though he is super rich he remembers to teach them values.

I think you're right glamma. When David Beckham was a youthful new recruit at United, my son was working there alongside doing his degree. He was putting all the players' health records on a database, and so had to spend time with each of them to check the information was correct. David Beckham was extremely shy and polite, not at all arrogant like some of the others, and it was clear he was a well brought up young man. Apparently, he was the only one who washed his own kit at the time - don't suppose that lasted, but the little things show, don't they?

We used tp have a chores chart for the 3 girls which took their relative ages into account, as others have said, including setting and clearing table, making bed, helping in kitchen and so on. It worked.
The best scam I had though was ironing - I managed to bluff eldest DD into ironing at "a penny a piece" - OK paying over the odds for a hanky, but exploitation for shirts!!

We were all practising archery in the garden yesterday. When it wasn't my turn I was applying the gardening shears to various things behind the shooting line. DD went and got some secateurs without being asked and began to help. We let DH pull arrows out of the target and find the ones that went wide in the grass.

DGC do like to help clean my car and vacuum up the mess they make in it! At home they will follow their mums around with dusters and take charge of bits and bobs. All v good at taking shoes off before walking right into house etc. Saturday morning is tidy and sort the toys etc ..when it's done pocket money might be available!