when is it time!!!!

[Tigger]

i am just wondreing when i should start teaching nicole because she is a big girl and she can do most stuff on her own plus she was asking the other day if i would teach and i put up my guns and told her that i will decide when it is time for her to learn i dont know if any of you would do that but i felt like i should be doing it i wanted to cry because she is my baby and i need to be doing it it is hard for me to let the job up for her i dont know really why i feel like this so i was just kinda curious on how you all would do or when you would let them???

[charliegirl]

Personally, I think that when it looks to me like they are mature enough to do it without ruining everything, its time they learned how. That doesn't mean they need to do their own laundry all the time, but they have to know how.

When they start asking questions, its a good time to let them help you with it and you can explain why you are doing each thing, etc.

[misty]

Ok, I think this is a REALLY great question. I think the answer should really be something different than the one I chose, BUT......I don't WANT Shannon doing the laundry so I picked "I am the mother & I'll do the laundry". I think maybe I SHOULD be teaching her, but I'm not. She's more than welcome to watch or help, but I'll be in charge of it. That said, I do sometimes have her put her clothes away after they are washed. Not always though because usually she just shoves them in a drawer & they all get wrinkly, then she looks a mess for school.

[jj]

Actually, both my step-sons did some of their laundry like socks, underware and t-shirts around 11 yrs old but that was only just to teach them how. However, when they started throwing their clean clothes on the floor and I'd occasionallyl tell them they had to do their own clothes. But that was just to make a point. By the time they left home they both knew how to do laundry properly but both my hubby and myself did most of it.

Nikki was a whole different story. It was just easier to do it myself. But it is payback time...she has 3 little ones she has to do laundry for. Hee hee.

[katiekat]

I agree with Misty-that's why I picked I'm the mother and I'll do it. I don't let my husband touch the laundry and I certainly don't want my kids doing it. I'm anal like that!

[lillian]

I can't choose between the options . I started doing my laundry when I was thirteen because I wanted to, not because I had to. When I was sick with the flu a couple weeks ago, I asked my son to do the laundry, told him how, and he did it without a problem. He's thirteen. I don't know. I'm not big on making my son do chores, but when I ask him to, he does them without complaining, and that works for us. I feel like eight hours of school and two-to-three hours of homework a night is a lot of work for a kid, and I don't see the purpose of making him do chores on top of everything else. If we had a big family, he would have to do chores, but he's an only child, so cleaning his room, doing his laundry, etc., is not hard for me to do. I expect him to pick up after himself and to take his dirty dishes to the sink. He's not a kid who makes a huge mess wherever he goes, either, so cleaning up after him isn't a big deal.

Now, I had a foster daughter who made messes wherever she went. I'd clean her room, and she would wreck it in fifteen minutes. She would sit at the dining room table and do crafts, and she would get glue, glitter, and beads all over the table and floor. She'd take a bath, and she would leave a trail of water behind her, throw the towels on the floor, get toothpaste and mouthwash on the mirror and all over the sink, and she would get food all over the backseat of the car when she ate in the car. I made her clean up after herself and doing so meant she did more chore-like things. She used to get angry and say, "You don't make him do chores!" And I used to say, "If he made the messes you do, he would be doing them, too."

So, I guess my point is, I don't mind doing the housework, but I do mind cleaning up after a child constantly. Does that make sense?

[kyty]

My oldest son had to learn because I broke my ankle and was no weight bare at all on it. It was a really good thing for him. My mom came over and put it into piles and showed him how and he did really well. I do have to say the novelty has worn off a bit now and it's now abut of a fight but he did well while it lasted.