Foster Kids and Chores

LOLOL Your daughter would hate me!! I have them washing dishes, taking trash out and putting their clothes away.

LOL. Yeah, I have her put her clothes away too. She also vacuums with supervision and helps weed. She hates weeding the most but she only does it about 10 minutes 4 or 5 days a week. Teaches her responsibility. : )

I'd suggest things like setting the table, helping with dinner, taking out trash, feeding pets, sweeping the floor, cleaning room, etc. I would do a chore chart so it's clear what's expected. When DS was younger, his chore chart had one little thing per day, and a bigger thing on the weekend. Plus with the chart, it was less verbal "nagging". For littles, maybe a picture of the chore...like a broom, a dish, etc. We rotated, so each of us did the same thing (just on different days) so he didn't feel like we were asking him to do too much. That might help keep a foster kid from feeling like you're treating him/her differently than your DD. I let DS pick one thing to cross off the list because he hated it, so it got removed from the rotation. I also tried basing his allowance on how many items he checked off per week, but he didn't really care about the $ anyway so that wasn't a good motivator :)

We have two DD's at home ages 7 and 8 1/2. We are going to take girls ages 5-10. All the chores above are great. When we put together our chore charts we had each of the girls make a list of possible chores they would be willing to do. They do like to earn...and it doesn't have to be cash always. Mine even said they would clean the toilet. I had to say no to that one. We use a mix of points per chore and choosing what they will do each week. Then they can get a prize or paid money based on points. There are standard chores that need to be done of course. We don't pay them to pick up their rooms. That is considered part of living in our home and taking care of your things.Each has a chart made with their name. We use dry erase markers to fill in each week. It works well for us.

Our 4 and 6 year old can do many things. I have them bring their laundry baskets to the laundry room and help me load their dirty clothes into the washer. I still wash, dry, and fold their things, but I do give them their clothing to put away. I have to do it by drawer or they mix it all together, but we're making progress. They can wipe the counter tops, wipe the table, set the table, and help remove things from the table after meals. Both girls like to sweep with the broom. The oldest likes to vacuum. The 6 year old has started loading and unloading the dishwasher. I was surprised, but she wanted to try and she's more than capable! The 6 year old can clean her room and make her bed. The 4 year old can pick up her room (I never let it get bad or she'd be too overwhelmed). The 4 year old can take her bedding off her bed to be washed, but she cannot put her bedding back on or make her bed yet. The 6 year old will carry the trash outside for me. The 4 year old will empty the bathroom trash into the kitchen trash, and put a grocery bag liner into the bathroom trash can. They can both pick up toys & books from common areas. They both scrape their plates after they eat and put their own plates into the sink.