“Full House” is the prompt for Week 42 of 2024’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. Managing a home with five kids can be chaotic. Grampy Phil implemented some strategies to make it easier to manage his full house….though his children weren’t wild about them!
If you show this chore chart to the LaViolet siblings, you’ll get a visceral reaction. A half-amused scowl will darken their faces, and they’ll exclaim, “The _____ chore chart!” Please fill in the blank with the expletive of your choice. They certainly vary depending on which sibling you ask!
Grampy Phil started the chore chart to keep order in the house. There were various iterations of it as the years went by, but basically followed the same structure. Each child had a list of daily chores: making the bed, picking up clothes, putting dirty clothes in the hamper, clearing the top of their dresser, doing homework, dealing with their school bag (Mom doesn’t remember if that meant putting it away, prepping it for the following day, or both), and brushing their teeth.
They also had a series of rotating chores. Every week, a child was assigned one or more of these additional chores. They were tasked with either sweeping the floor, dusting, emptying the trash, setting the table, clearing and cleaning the table, washing the dishes, drying the dishes, putting away the dishes, or washing and cleaning the countertop and stove. The younger siblings were given the easiest chores when they were small, like dusting. As the children grew, more chores were assigned. Because the older kids had more responsibilities, they were rewarded with a later bedtime.
Grampy viewed the chore chart almost like a timesheet at job. He paid his kids a weekly allowance – my mom couldn’t remember if they were paid a nickel or a dime – and they were also given money to attend the double feature at the Star Theater each week. This special treat served a dual purpose. While the children had fun at the movies, my grandparents had some uninterrupted alone time at home.
To help keep clutter to a minimum, Grampy built a bank of toy boxes under the windows along the wall on the lower level of the house. He built six: one for each of his children and a spare. If toys were left out at the end of the day, they were placed in the sixth box which he kept locked. I remember him telling me years ago, “Twice each year I’d empty out that box and give the toys back. It was like another Christmas! The toys were new to them again!” he chuckled.
Though his kids – especially the older children who bore the brunt of the responsibility – despised their father’s rigid adherence to the chore chart and his “toy jail” they learned how to clean and work hard.
Love your post. I attempted chore charts, though we called them kaper charts with my daughters, filling the completed squares with stars. This brought great memories. I wished I had thought of the jail box for toys left out.