Tuesday, December 13, 2011

It's hard to argue against each member of the family doing his part to keep the place he lives in clean and healthy. There's a sense of pride in completing any task well, even if it's surviving a boring half hour of dusting. If everyone pitches in, there's also the feeling of being connected, of being relied upon. And like it or not, that stuff about chores teaching respect and responsibility and developing a work ethic does have some validity.
So if we agree to pitch in, how can we make it as painless as possible?
  1. Ask your parents to make up a list of all the chores up for grabs. There'll probably be at least a dozen different tasks. Chose a couple of the least awful...some of us would rather make the beds than wash the dishes, rather take out the garbage than throw in a wash. At least you'll have a choice.
  2. Make sure you both agree on what a chore encompasses. Be specific. Does cleaning the bathroom mean disinfecting the toilet, sink, and tub and washing the floor and shining the mirror? You'll resent it less if you know you're completing the job without being criticized for not doing what you were supposed to.
  3. Have a schedule to tell you how often certain things are expected to be done. Make sure everything you need is available and you know where it is. Don't look for a fight by saying you were willing to clean but you couldn't locate the Brillo.
  4. Negotiate. Ask your parents for the right to take care of your room without having to live up to their expectations of clean and orderly. Then make sure to keep the door closed at all times!
  5. Be clear on when the chores have to be done. No one wants to be told they can't go to the mall because the laundry's not folded. No one wants to be told to "DO IT NOW." If you have to do something icky, at least make sure it's not during Dawson's Creek.
  6. Seventy-one percent of the teens interviewed in a recent survey say their allowance depends on doing household chores. No small bargaining tool. If your parents strongly oppose to paying you for the work you do, then suggest another reward...a movie, ice cream, a half hour later curfew one night.
Info from BeingGirl.com
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