Chores: Then It Was a List, Now It’s a Negotiation
I’ll be honest: I am so soft on chores in my house. I have the best intentions, but very little follow-through. I tried to get my daughter to help me…
Washing dishes. Joyful nice boy standing near the sink while washing the dishes together with his father
I’ll be honest: I am so soft on chores in my house. I have the best intentions, but very little follow-through. I tried to get my daughter to help me with the laundry recently, and it was kind of a disaster. Not in a “learning experience” way either — more like somehow there was more laundry at the end. And while I’m standing there staring at the mess, I had a flashback to my own childhood.
When I was a kid, my dad had a yellow legal pad. On it was a list of chores. Not suggestions. Not “if you feel like it.” A list. He was the coolest guy in the world, but our house ran on structure, rules, and checkmarks
So, when A man shared an elaborate "chore list" that his dad created for him when he was a kid . . . starting at age eight. And that started a conversation online about today's kids getting off easy.
This guy's chores were a little unhinged, to say the least.
Every day before school, there were expectations. Make your bed. Eat breakfast. Do a final homework check. Leave the house on time. After school, it didn’t let up. Change clothes. Do all homework. Check in before 7 p.m. dinner. Be inside before 9. No dishes left in the sink. Trash emptied. Showered and in bed by 10. It wasn’t a routine — it was a full-time lifestyle.
Then came the weekly chores. Monday was trash day, including replacing every trash bag in the house. Sunday was laundry day. And not just washing. Drying, folding, putting clothes away, and ironing school clothes. Ironing. As a child.
Monthly chores were next-level. The first Saturday was a deep clean of the bathroom — toilet, tub, floors, all of it. The second Saturday was the kitchen. The third focused on the basement. The fourth was sweeping and washing the front and back of the house. Again, this was all happening before middle school.
When this list recently resurfaced online, people went wild. Some called it extreme. Others called it character-building. A lot of parents quietly admitted their kids would stage a full rebellion if asked to do even half of this.
That’s where the bigger conversation started. Parents today are softer. We negotiate, explain, praise effort and let things slide because everyone is exhausted. Older generations swear that structure breeds discipline. Clear rules. Clear expectations. No drama.
Maybe I just need a yellow legal pad.
