I will miss these when they’re back at school!

As my daughters are headed back to school, I’m really appreciating how much they help me when they’re home these days. People know that I am a huge proponent of mothers not feeling like you are the maid, chauffeur, cook- or otherwise like a servant in your own home. Even young children should pull their weight around the house, but this is a MUST when the kids are 16+ years. We tend to continue to look at our kids as little, but they are smart and capable- we raised them to be! So this is the time to start viewing them as such, and allowing them to grow into responsible adults! Just be forewarned whenever you ask kids to do something, it may not be done to your standards- ie: my daughter cannot seem to cut the grass in a straight line to save her life!

Here are some ways they can help you, whether they’re home for the summer/holiday breaks or in high school.

First, I suggest getting a low limit credit card for older children. It’s important to show them they can be trusted. My daughters took the card to college and were allowed to use it with permission and/or if necessary/emergencies. When they’re home and can do errands for you, it’s convenient in that you don’t have to pull out a card each time, and if they’re not home and you need a favor- there you go. Also it’s something that so easy to monitor the spending (see my blog on gifts for older children- ie trips).

• 1. Errands. When children can drive (I do highly suggest waiting until 17 but that’s another story)- it is a win-win for you and them. They want to borrow the car because it’s new and fun, and it’s always good to get more practice. Use this to your advantage! They can do things that you have (literally in my case) done for 30 years, like grocery shopping, getting gas in the car, stuff at the post office…or honestly just running out because you need three things at the dollar store. My kids were more than happy to do it. Things you not only need (food) but want, you should have on their to-do lists. Think taking the car to the car wash and vacuuming it, or taking used clothes to Good Will!
• 2. Tasks you might have been worried your kids might get hurt doing, you should give them the opportunity to do now. I literally showed my 19 year old daughter how to start the grill the other day. It honestly never occurred to me she could do it, and she did- easily. Kids are much smarter than we think. Cutting the grass was also something I thought would be too dangerous but it’s no big deal to share that task. We have a (inflatable) hot tub, and there was NO WAY I ever trusted them to test the water and adjust the chemicals correctly. Why?
• 3. Deep Cleaning. It goes without saying that it’s a necessity to share daily responsibilities such as cooking, doing the dishes, and laundry. But along the lines of ‘things you’d really like to have done’, I’ve given ‘deep cleaning’ tasks to the girls. I am fortunate that my youngest gets satisfaction out of cleaning- so I am lucky! By this, I mean things like steam cleaning your couch cushions or curtains, scrubbing the outdoor furniture, cleaning the hot tub, heavy duty cleaning of the bath tub.
• 4. Animals. For absolute sure, your kids should be taking care of any pets, especially since they likely were the ones that begged you to get them! We are a cats family- and although I had them well before I had children, the ones we’ve had in recent years were totally because of the girls. In fact, my current cat Chunkin (Pumpkin, but it’s his nickname because he’s on the chubby side) was literally my daughter’s ex-boyfriend’s brother’s cat. The cat couldn’t get along with any other cats so he couldn’t keep him anymore. I happened to not have a cat at the time, and my daughter begged me to take him. So that’s that. So it stands to reason, they feed and water him, monitor him when he’s outside, and of course, handle the litter box. 
• 5. Physical Tasks. As I get older, I find myself definitely shifting more of the physical tasks to the younger generation- going down to the basement to get the laundry, cleaning gutters, putting out the garbage and recycling, etc. These are honestly things that come easy to them and they do not mind doing. My almost 59 year old body thanks them for this for sure 🙂

Sharing the workload for things has really freed us up to be more spontaneous and creative! When I’m not the only one running out all the time for things (like rice because we want to make sushi at the last minute)…it’s really nice.

Definitely give these things a try. Teach your kids some very important responsibility and enjoy a little freedom of your own!