What type of chores do you find is appropriate for your teen?

Sorry, that I can't help you there sweetie. I haven't gotten there yet. But when I do, I'll remember to come to you.:D

Oh man, I don't have any teens yet but I remember!!!

I grew up on a farm, so chores included things like building barbed wire fences, roofing (or patching) the barns, sorting and working cows, feeding cows, doing a variety of things on the tractor, (planting, plowing, ect), Oh and firewood, I always hated cutting, loading, splitting, and stacking firewood. For some reason my dad (the workaholic) thought all work with firewood should begin in July and be finished by the end of August, and in Alabama that is HOT. To this day my brother says the hardest he has ever had to work was from 14 to 18. I won't go quiet that far but for teenagers we did more work than anyone I knew.

Yesterday my wife was reading a book by Debi Pearl that stated that at 15 boys should be considered men and 18 they should be FULLY responsible for their own actions/behavior. That maybe a little much, but I would imagine we tend to underestimate our children at most any age.

and I did start getting paid for my help around the house/farm when I moved out and helped voluntary :) (all this just reminded me that I need to go work on his welding machine before hurricane Gustav gets here) It never ends :rolleyes:

BD.

You know BD.. I like what that book had to say.. about men at 15 and so on..

I think the problem with todays kids is that they are teaching sex and crud SO early in schools because they are exposed to it so early.. but as the kids grow up they have NO clear instructions, people are afraid (or maybe just don't want to) to step up to the plate and be parents and LEAD their kids.. so at age 15 they are still kids and age 18.. they are shocked in society as they are kicked out of school.

I don't think people put enough responsibility on their kids. I grew up on a farm myself.. so my chores were different as well. I feel though that having responsibility (that would stretch beyond picking up my nintendo and a few dishes) it built character. I don't overwhelm my children (because I was a victim of that as well at home..) but I DO expect that they help out.

My teenager will complain at times but all in all he has a REALLY good attituded about chores because he KNOWS it's helping the family out and he has a heart that appreciates that. :)

I think the problem with todays kids is that they are teaching sex and crud SO early in schools because they are exposed to it so early.. but as the kids grow up they have NO clear instructions, people are afraid (or maybe just don't want to) to step up to the plate and be parents and LEAD their kids.. so at age 15 they are still kids and age 18.. they are shocked in society as they are kicked out of school.


AMEN!!!

That is as good as I have heard it put yet

He has to clean his room, empty the dw, take the trash out, clean the kitty litter, anything he feels like doing on top of that. I know I am missing other stuff. He is 10 :)

What type of chores do you find is appropriate for your teen?

Well, I look at it this way: When a child is old-enuf to "pro-create", they are old enuf for other work...

I've been working a full-time job since I was 15 yrs. young.
and
my daughter (the unschooled college-grad at 17), the same way.
Then at 19, she & her dh bought their 1st. house; it's HUGE.
Now at 23, she's gonna :wavey: Birth... her 1st. child this month :clapping:

We live on 8 acres where we raise birds and tend an acre size garden, so my 16 year old has a lot of outdoor chores. My almost 13 year old daughter does cleaning, laundry, cooking and babysitting. Not all the time :D but she knows how. I made myself a chore list... My days would go smoother if I did them...but no one checks up on me :D

We don't keep a chore list, but there are things my teen knows she's supposed to do. I wish she was better about doing them with out being reminded.
Her main responsibility is to take care of the pets. She has to feed, water and clean the cages for the dogs and the guinea pigs. We live in the country so our dogs get to wander except one of them, because he runs away if he is without a leash. She can do all the housework that I do to an acceptable degree and is asked to do so as I see fit. One of the reasons I don't have a chore list is because I don't want to have the disagreement with any of them about who's chore they may have been asked to do. I had a friend once suggest instead of calling them chores, call them house blessings. I thought it was a good idea, but it didn't work for us. Maybe I didn't try hard enough. The word chore to me just implies drudgery.

All 3 kiddos:
keep their rooms picked up
keep their bathroom picked up
keep "their" living room picked up
put their clean laundry away (after I fold and sort)
They take turns:
load/unload dishwasher (we handle the settings)
set the table
take care of the pets' food and water

Sometimes they will vacuum or sweep.

M- sweep, dishes
T- vacuum
W- clean back bathroom
Th- dishes
F- clean front bathroom

He is responsible for keeping his own room orderly. That's not a problem. A drill sergeant would be impressed. :thumbs:

He also shares the responsibility of taking trash cans to and from the curb on trash pick up day, and occasionally babysits his siblings.

He can do extra chores for money: wash the cars, mow the lawns, etc.