My oldest daughter, my husband and I made the decision that this summer she would be able to stay home alone versus going back to our regular summer camp. She’s ten and has a phone to contact us for anything. We have some pretty amazing neighbors who are home as well. She’s also a pretty dang dependable and honest kid.
She will be enjoying the luxury of a relaxing summer (with a couple of soccer camps thrown in), but she will not be laying on the couch all day. I explained to her initially that if she stays home she will have chores to do EVERY DAY. We also agreed that if everything is done correctly and without arguments, she will be compensated. She agreed and said she wanted things to do. Plus, what kid doesn’t love easy money?!
This is the first full week of summer for us. We are currently giving her 1-3 house chores every day. These are including, but not limited to, dusting the house, folding all the towels and/or clothes, helping move over the laundry, unloading and reloading dishes, vacuuming and taking out the trash. Each day there is a list to complete.
I also made sure that we included 30 minutes of reading and 60 minutes of exercise.
She may be at home this summer, but she absolutely will be helping out around the house. We’re looking at this as a win win! She has things to do, makes some money, and we have less to do on the weekend so we can enjoy the summer. My husband and I work full time, so weekends are usually jam packed with laundry, cleaning and groceries. Now, with her help we are all hoping to be able to spend more time together.
Yeah, I know it’s all unicorn and rainbows since it’s the first week of summer. I’m sure there will be weeks where it’s a fight to complete the chores. I’m sure she will still have a lot of screen time. But, if it gives us a little room to breath on the weekends… it’s worth it!
I’m putting my kid to work this summer and I’m not upset about it one bit.
