Age Appropriate "Chores" for My 11 Year Old Son

My 6.5 yr old now empties the dishwasher (this started as putting away the silverware when she was 3). She gathers all the trash for Daddie to take to the dumpster. She's learning to sort laundry and help in the garden. And she keeps an eye on her little brother while I'm busy.

She doesn't get paid for this - it's her part of sharing the family load. However, we are starting a "pay-day" where she'll receive a check for $5 per week. (Our Credit union gives tokens to earn prizes for kids making deposits.) She set aside 10% for offering, 50% for savings and 40% for spending.

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The chores we have here at home are..

Vacuuming every day
picking things up in the dining room/living room
dumping trash in bathrooms
wiping down the sinks in the bathrooms each day with a wet wipe
clean the toilet once a week (we have the toilet wand..makes it fun for the kids)
sort laundry into appropriate colors/shades
and cleaning up their room every day

I've been told that we give our kids too much..but they do a good job and our 5 year old is learning about money and that it doesn't grow on trees. We have a chart and if everything is done for one day without me having to get onto her or if she does it very willingly, it's a dollar per day. At the end of the week she could earn anywhere from $0-5. Friday is payday.
My four year old however, is a lot less mature than my 5 year old, amazing the difference in maturity whithin a year...anyway, my four year old has to have two days of getting all of her stickers and then she gets something from the prize box.
I would asign him chores on your own and then also ask what he'd like to do (within reason).
Have fun :)
C.

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When I was his age I helped out a lot around the house. I took out the trash, sorted the recycling, helped with sorting laundry - washing & hanging up (I would use caution with this one... my brother was horrible at laundry and ruined a lot of my clothes), washed the dishes, swept, dusted, fed & watered the pets, etc.

I'm not sure about allowance, it's been a while... not sure how inflation and the current economy has effected the rates. ;)

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Hmmm, having an 11 yr old! Boy would I put him to work....:) I would definitely say: collecting & taking out trash/recycling, helping get younger sibblings to bed/bath when needed, if he doesn't know how to do laundry he should start learning....and definitely help with fold, sort, and put away. Dust, sweep/vacuum floors, clean mirrors/TVs, clean bathrooms, help with yard chores (shovel snow, mow lawn, rake leaves, etc.), keep room clean, make dinner, do dishes, put away dishes, unload car from grocery store and put away food. For an 11 yr old I think $2-3/wk would be appropriate. I would also recommend that he consider starting to babysit. You could do this supervised in the house or give him the job of watching his younger sibblings (while you do something decadant like take a long bubble bath, etc.) This also keeps his options open for 12-15 when he's at the awkward age of not being able to get a "real" job.

My grandma used to tell us what she needed done and had us "charge" her accordingly. Of course, she could disagree or haggle over the costs as well... I think the important thing to teach him is that (as my mom would say) "you have 2 eyes in your head, if you see something that needs to be done, or someone that needs help...do it!" You can't ask for more than that out of a kid these days!

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My son is 12, and has ADD. He empties the trash, (throughout the entire house) daily, and weekly pulls the carts to the curb for pickup by the trash truck. He cleans his room daily. He runs the vacuum twice a week, and cleans the bathroom twice a week. He folds laundry and matches socks while he watches t.v., and if he doesnt' want to fold and match, then he doesnt' watch t.v.
We don't pay him an allowance as he's a productive member of our family.
To earn extra money, he has to mow and trim the yard in the summer. Shovel snow in the winter. We pay him for that. Sometimes special chores will be paid for, but not the daily ones. He's been doing these since he was 10.

Chores are teaching responsibility and also skills for living out on his own when he is grown up. (I know some boys that can't match socks when they are 20....so these are things that will be useful)

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