What chores should a 4 year old be payed for?

Katie - posted on 07/06/2011

She should know certain chores she has to do to help out in the house bc she is a good girl. I would nix mom in law's little habits and keep those toys to a limit and at her house. I would tell her after she continually keeps up on chores a trip to the zoo.

Sarah - posted on 07/12/2009

Our sons ( 7 and 4 yo ) get $2 a week for good behaviour. They are expected to keep their room clean and the eldest has certain chores like getting in the wood, putting the washing in the dryer and drying the dishes. The youngest has a cheap policemans badge and he is the tidy-up police and he makes sure that everyone keeps the place tidy. I refuse to pay my children for chores as we live in a community and it is expected. Good behaviour on the other hand...... :)

April - posted on 04/27/2009

we have a four year old also and we do stones. We have a vase full of stones and she has a smaller vase. Each time she does her chores, we move a stone from my vase to hers. Each monday, we count the stones and she gets $0.15 for each one. 10% of the total goes toward tithing, 15% for savings and the remainder she can save or she can use. We have started out with her chores being making her bed, putting her dirty laundry in the hamper and cleaning up the toys before bed whether it is her room or toys she has been playing with in the living or family room. Soon we will change those to expectations and add other chores but we want to get her in the habit of doing those. She also gets a stone if she helps put away laundry, fold laundry, load the dishwasher, extra things we ask her to do. We also don't buy her a lot of toys so she takes good care of what she has.

Tam - posted on 04/19/2009

Oh yes! Yard Sales are wonderful. My little niece saved her "dollars" (she's five) and bought her own doll (they had an almost new water baby). I think she's more careful with it (making sure it's not laying around, etc.) because she did pick it out and "buy" it herself.

Kelley - posted on 04/19/2009

I have four sons ages 6 to 15 yrs old and they do not get paid for chores, we are a family, we are a team , we work together and we reward ourselves with things like family time with smores around the fire or for example my two oldest are teens so they need a few bucks to go to a movie or ball game and we are glad to hand it over since the participate and do thier part ! My boys earn money by referreeing say soccer, mowing grass etc, and that they must save 50%, give 10% and use the remaining 40%. My youngest sons 6 and 8 yrs just know the difference between a need and a want, if they need it we buy it if they want it then they may get it for thier birthday. I have been known a handful of times to suprise them with something because they were caught being good , even then it is small ! I really need them to know whats important and that material things are not it ! I guess since I have four kids maybe thats why I feel this way and I have a son with special needs so my priorities are a bit different ! Yard sales are fun for us everyone gets like $5 and it is amazing the things you can find and recycle then donate when you are done ! Yesterday we bought a box of 12 board games for $6 ! Good Luck to you just remember if you start now you can't turn back and one dollar at 4 yrs old = $20 at 13 yrs old ! Dave Ramsey has a program call FPU jr it is a great tool also !

Tam - posted on 04/16/2009

You're very welcome. I can't take credit for all of them, some were passed on to me when my kids were little. :) But they've worked for us.

I did forget one more that we did when the boys were that little. Bathroom trash. We used grocery bags in the smaller trash cans so the boys would just grab the handles and run it to the trash can. They were also responsible for putting a new bag in there. It's something easy and because they don't have to reach into it (just grab handles and go) it worked well.

And yeah, everyone has ideas on what is right for their families. Believe it or not, I used to be one of those who wanted to give them allowance for all. But after careful thought about job life and whatnot, I realized they won't get paid for keeping their own space but for what they contribute to the company. Keeping their workspaces neat will be expected, but that's not what they get paid for. I don't know, like said, it works for us.

Good luck getting your allowance system set up!

OH! Wanted to tell you, at that age, you can use a to-do list to help them also learn days of the week. (Monday your chores are: xx xx xx, etc.) At her age you might consider using pictures too, to help her. Like for brushing teeth, have a toothbrush, to feed animals, have a pic of the animal.

You can keep one inside one of those protective sleeves and she can use a dry-erase marker to check them off and then erase at the end of the day. I did notice my kids did a LOT better when they had a list. Another option is to get a BADGE thing that she can attach to her shirt or wear around her wrist. She can't take out the card until that job is finished. When that job is finished it can go in a special pile or in the back of the badge keeper. When she gets to the end, she'll know her chores are done for the day.

Mandy - posted on 04/16/2009

Tam Zimmerman,

THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU! You have some GREAT IDEAS! I also love your opinion on "family" related chors and making their room their own territory! My sister and I go back and forth on what jobs should be rewarded, and what should be their responsibility. I will definately share this view with her! Thanks again!

Tam - posted on 04/14/2009

One thing my DH and I were always careful about is that our children get allowance for "family" related chores and not for their own. What I mean is that their rooms are their own spaces, and they should keep them neat and tidy for themselves. But when they contribute to help the family, then we would pay allowance. Some people don't agree and that's okay, not everything works for everyone. Just make sure that your system works for you.



A four year old can do a lot of things that would help the family.



~ Help you take the clothes out of the dryer.

~ Help put the wet clothes in the dryer.

~ Help sort clothes dirty clothes by color.

~ Help fold some clothes like towels. Even match some socks.

~ Give her a feather duster and let her go to town. Even my boys liked this when they were younger, they would want to keep going---one even insisted on dusting the couch!

~ Help you set the table for dinner, help with some dinner prep (like tossing the salad, etc.)

~ Can help pick up by stacking magazines, newspapers, etc.

~ Can help with gardening and weeding, especially when they have their own little tools (shovel, gloves, all kid-sized)

~ Help you unload the dishwasher (hand you plates, etc.)

~ Water plants (with your guidance)

~ Help take care of pets (feed and water)

~ Make their bed and maybe help you with yours.

~ Gather soiled linens from bathrooms and take to laundry

~ Run a sweeper vac in the kitchen (not full-size vac!!)



Obviously most of these you'll have to be there with her, but that's the good part. It gives you time to give her positive reinforcement and explain how she's helping the family and she gets to spend precious time with you.



One thing we've found that helps is to make games out of it. No one wants to do chores, but when everyone pitches in and "plays" it makes the chore go faster and we get to play for real even faster.



Timers are great. My kids each got one for Christmas one year. We play, let's see who can pick up the most in 10 mins a lot. They even started doing it on their own in their rooms! Not that all kids will, but if they think it's fun, they'll want to do it a lot.



Stray socks in need of matching? Play go fish with them. If she wins, let her pick something fun to do that afternoon or a special treat to go with dinner that she can help make. (cupcakes are always fun)



Showers and tubs are always hard on a mom's back. Let her get the lower parts while having fun. Put her in her swimsuit and while you are there supervising (and cleaning the rest of the bathroom) let her scrub down the tub with soap or shampoo and a special poofy sponge (not the one for her body) and rinse with cups or squirt guns/bottles. (The soap/shampoo costs less than cleaners and won't harm her skin or cause strong odors to burn little noses--and mommy noses!) This is especially great in the winter when they want to play in the water but it's too cold to go out and do it. It won't be perfect, but it will be better than before. We aren't perfect either and so it's crazy to expect the kids to be perfect about it. It will be fun and giggly and worth the effort! Just have lots of towels on hand! LOL



If you're wanting to help her with math, you can ask her to pick up five items from the floor in the livingroom, etc.





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