These include cleaning toilets, changing sheets, washing hand towels, etc. Not just taking out the trash and vacuuming when there’s a mess.
These include cleaning toilets, changing sheets, washing hand towels, etc. Not just taking out the trash and vacuuming when there’s a mess.
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By age 12 my mom had pretty much decided that her only job was cooking. The rest of the chores were left to the kids… So, yes.
That’s just called doing chores when you’re a kid.
I had chores my whole life. By the time I moved out, I was a fully functioning adult.
My mom taught me how to cook and do laundry by the time I was about 11 or 12. Had to mow the lawn and trim trees/rosebushes too. She used to clean when she was stressed out so that was mostly her thing.
By like 10 was doing chores consistently, yeah.
Yeah we had to clean the whole house every weekend as kids. Dusting, sweeping, mopping vacuuming, toilet scrub, shower scrub, etc. Comet, it makes you vomit, so get your comet and vomit today
We had chores growing up! My dad cooked as often as my mom did! 4 kids and we kept the house up and the yard work. It was how everyone did it back then. Kids were expected to do real chores, everyday, both my parents worked and we had a list every single day and it better be done before they got home.
By 10 I could (and did) do pretty much all the chores and regularly cooked frozen food. I was amazed moving to university and finding out not everyone knew how a washing machine worked or how to cook a meal.
One of the difficult things about asking a question like this is that almost everyone thinks the answer is yes for them.
People who only do the absolute basics are often doing all the chores/upkeep tasks that they think are important. When they ask themselves this question no missing chores come to mind.
Of course, when they live with someone who was taught a lot more home upkeep they suddenly find their partners/roommates frustrated with them for not doing enough.
Once I was old enough to do it effective, reach everything read the instructions etc. Probably between 7-10 depending on the task.
I was never really ‘taught’ how to do any of this. It just seemed like common sense doesn’t it?
I don’t think that my parents were very neat housekeepers themselves. They hired somebody once a month or so, which was something I learned you could do. My mom believed that this would save conflict in their marriage because otherwise it would probably fall to her, given the way that gender politics work in the United States, even if they both intended to split the work 50/50.
But I had house chores starting from an early age. These included cleaning my room, changing my sheets, taking out the trash, cleaning up after myself, mowing the lawn, painting the house, mopping floors, and so forth on a regular basis. Basis. I did my own laundry starting at about age 10.
My mom made it into a game growing up, said whenever I was dusting or surface cleaning I was getting all the little bad dudes and she’d make all the “death rattle” noises and stuff as I went
I think its important to just keep it light and fun and a shared activity
I was taught how to do all that and more like being self sustainable survival skills.. I am thankful for my parents that put me through lots of stressful situations at an early age, but it has built me to be where I am today with confidence that no matter how tough life is. I can still make it out alive. I can do things with manual labor work wise or with modernized technology assist. Not a job that I’m not afraid to get my hands and knees dirty.
What about any of those things needs to be taught?? Take the trash outside when it’s full… Vacuum the carpets when they’re dirty…. What needs to be told to you?
Mom paid me 20 bucks to clean the house. Both bathrooms, kitchen, all carpeting, all dusting. It wasn’t a big house, the whole job took under 2 hours. But I had to do it right.
I can’t remember an age when we weren’t doing chores.
I’m having trouble understanding the question.
These aren’t things that need to be taught. Monkey see monkey do is enough. So literally any male who grew up in a household where this happens knows this.
Single parent family. Mom assigned us chores to do when she was working. She taught us/me how to clean house and to cook.
If by taught you mean having my dad yell when he had to fix something, sure
These were all part of my chores as a kid, so by 12 or so I knew how to do all of those normal housekeeping things. Laundry, bathrooms, kitchen, bedclothes etc.
Clean up chores like picking up toys in mid single digit ages, more advanced stuff like sweeping vacuuming, 9-12(I think) learned to do dishes when I started learning to cook also 11-12 y/o. More advanced cooking/cleaning/maintenance tasks mid teens. 38m.
I wouldn’t say I was taught, just was made aware of how those things occurred
The chores I did when I was a kid and helping my dad fix things around the house
I watched my parents have a regular house cleaning routine – bathrooms cleaned on Saturday mornings , laundry done as soon as the laundry basket is full , dishes cleaned immediately after dinner and no dishes in the sink before you leave the house or overnight , vacuuming and floors on Sunday , kitchen cleaned after every meal, everyone leave the bathroom looking clean just like you found it – rinse out sink, dry shower walls , all towels hung to dry . Growing up with a clean house makes you expect it and be happy comfortable with a mess . The key is to keep it clean and then once a week clean around the edges . Also you only need to spend 30 to 40 minutes on the weekend to bring things back into very good shape .
In early childhood from. About 3 or 4 years old, our little nieces love sweeping an vacuuming an our nephew loves cooking an stacking the dishes in the washer. Are they helping at that age not really no but they are learning the basics an the important concepts of household chores and skills.
They also are learning about jobs they wash the cars with us an after that we go to the gas station an fill up with gas an they get to buy a treat which they know they get after cleaning cars.
No, almost nothing. Or if I was taught, it was a complicated lecture that I won’t remember later. A lot of times I was expected to know how to do something I was never taught, so I kind of half assed it. Or like I cleaned the bathroom with windex or something because no one told me what it use. I could have asked but I felt stupid every time I did the way they responded to me.
When I was like 6… Maybe 7. Those were normal household chores growing up
By the 4th or 5th grade I was doing the basic cleaning chores. Mopping, vacuuming, scrubbing toilets, sinks, countertops, showers, washing walls, using furniture polish on finished wood, laundry, using leather cleaner on the couches, scrubbing walls, shampooing carpet, dishes, etc. My mom was so over zealous about it that I’m now happy to live in somewhat of a mess than do all this stuff at least once a week.
I’ve been doing chores since I was at least 6.
Been cooking and cleaning since I was like 8.
Living in the fraternity house
Moving grass, cleaning up leaves, mulching, shoveling snow, snow blowing, from 8 years old through high school. No inside chores, really. I was summoned outdoors for hard labor from a young age!
Never really taught much beyond keeping my room clean. Living with my wife who has severe mental health issues and getting the house to a pretty bad point taught me…
Farm kid here & yes those kinds of things were a part of our chore rotation as kids.
In addition to learning our farm chores we also learned cooking, basic sewing, ironing and sock darning etc. Also learned about budgeting and saving etc using the farm finances as examples. My sisters could all do basic vehicle maintenance & tire changes etc too
My parent’s idea was that once we left home we could fend for ourselves easily.
Even though they aren’t farm kids this was all stuff we passed onto our kids too
No. Nothing. And i had to start working at 15, so i didn’t really have a chance to learn much before I was 25.
As I was growing up I learnt the majority of it as my parents did it and called us over to learn, how to do laundry, how to cook food, how to clean things up, my dad taught us how to do things around the house as he did it when they came up… They really did do what they could to make me and my sisters self-sufficient for these things.
Hell, I was 12 or 13 when my dad taught me the proper way of using a chainsaw (under very strict supervision after fully explaining how it works and how things can go bad fast), even though I didn’t need to use it until i was well into my 20s.
By the time I was 10 I could clean everything in the house by the time I was 12-13 I was expected to do a few of the household chores for the week
As a kid I had to do chores. Dishes, sweep and mop, clean the restrooms, mow the yard. Whatever I was told to do. I didn’t have to do them all the time, but enough that I knew how to do them. My kids now have chores. They are involved in a lot of activities, but we know that they are capable of cleaning a house. Important life skills
Mom did not want me dependent on anyone. So, she started teaching us how to cook and do laundry at around 9. She started with baking because it was easier to learn by following a recipe. Both parents worked, so this allowed us to take care of ourselves.
I lived alone for 20 years, of course I have to do these things.
I’m a trans guy, raised like a girl, and still didn’t learn much. My stepmom tried for a couple years, but my mom was so heavily parentified by her own family that she was desperate not to do the same to us. She massively overcorrected. I had to call her when I was like 24 and ask “I’m sorry, I know this is a stupid question, but how do I clean a toilet?” and she was just silent for several seconds and then said, “…yep. That’s my fault.”
She did her best tho, haha. She always answers if I have questions now! Though it’s very hard to build the habits from scratch as an adult.
Starting when we were old enough to pick up after ourselves when we were 2. By the time we were around 8 we were doing laundry. Around 10 or so cooking easy stuff. By 12 cooking full meals. That’s what good parents do.
Don’t forget to change your air filters every month or three
Basic training, 2000. I had a lot of the basics down but none of the structure and orderliness. That changed quick!
I learned that shit in navy boot camp
My dad tried to teach some of what he knew. But he hated delegating, so in the end I had to sort out most myself. Thank god for youtube. Although to this day I still find some super basic skills I didn’t even know existed.
Taught? Never, I was just told to do since I could walk. I still remember getting pissed that first time doing the bottom sheet and one corner kept popping off when I would stretch the sheet out for the next corner.
I was never taught any of this. Had to learn what needed to be done on my own and often came up with my own techniques for doing it. YouTube helped a lot.
Yes. My parents taught me starting around 11/12. All those things were my chores at some point. I had to teach my first off campus roommate how to clean a bathroom and fold laundry. Baffling.
I was, from age 10. All that and actual upkeep like electrical, plumbing, appliance repair etc.
From the time I can remember. Four kids and two parents that work will do that.
I was a kid. Plus, we had a Reader’s Digest book on home maintenance and a Popular Mechanics Encyclopedia.
Mom insisted we know how to cook and clean and we grew up in the 60s and 70s. My brother and I are above average cooks and I know I do a bit of cleaning over the years. At this point in life I’m still working more than full time and my wife isn’t working so she’s taken over except for cooking on special occasions.
I just copied my mom from watching her while growing up.
Since I was about 6? Started with cleaning and dusting but graduated to basically everything by the time I was 8 or so. Practice makes perfect!
Late teens, early 20s.. I had my first kid at 20 and his momma wouldn’t let me get away with doing nothing.. plus my parents made us do chores growing up
Learned fairly quickly within the first few months of moving out. It’s a part of becoming an adult and having to learn from own mistakes.
It’s called being slave labor and hell yeah I was doing that shit and a lot more by middle school. When I asked for money or an allowance I was told I’d get dinner tonight and a shower.
I wasn’t taught it. My old man – I loved him, mind you – thought cleaning was women’s work and did do much once my parents divorced. You don’t have to learn not to be a slob – you just have to choose not to want to be.
My mother gave me a crash course in domestic studies as I turning 16. Her thought process was that I should independent enough not to NEED someone to take care of me.
So I learned to cook, clean, vacuum, laundry and even some rudimentary sewing.
By the time, I married my wife – my sewing kit was the size of a fishing tackle box. Hers was the size of a deck of cards. I have switched out buttons on her outfits, repaired small tears. I have done the family laundry since 1991. According to my adult sons, I am the best cook among the hockey dads (my wife is better).
Learned as a kid to keep the house clean, pickup after myself and complete chores……or catch a beating and go to bed hungry…
I wasn’t really taught anything. I just had to figure it all out on my own like pretty much everything in life.
When I was a teenager and in highschool my mom was diagnosed with Leukemia*. My dad worked 70-80 hrs week running his company. My sister was three years younger than me.
So when my dad wasn’t at the hospital or working he was home sleeping.
I was running the house. I cleaned and cooked. My mom would call the house and guide me on how to cook meals for my dad and sister. This was before internet and cell phones.
*She beat it and is alive today at 80.
Progressively between 8 and 12
You figure it out when you have no other choice
I mean I had some chores, but my mom couldnt really cook, and my dad was constantly working so I left without any real skills or concept of what was a normal timeline for a lot of upkeep tasks.
I just try to find time weekly to do little spurts of cleaning.
If it gets real bad, you break out the jeager and Red Bull and start cleaning and do a pull every time you finish a task. End of the day is a clean house and you’re pretty lit. 🔥
Never, wasn’t my parents culture for sons to do it. Then my ex wife would do the chores and hated it.
Wasn’t until I lived by myself that I learnt and am learning. It’s so important for a guy to move out once they’re in their 30s
By like the age of 5 lol
Got out of school and had a list daily. It never occurred to me to do that to my sons. Not sure why but they both always knew how to use the washer and dryer, do dishes and some other things. Watching them sweep drove me insane though. Probably still would….it always got done, their way, not mine and I was okay with it
Not on purpose, but I grew up with a very industrious grandma when it came to order and tidiness. I learned a lot from her. However, the secret to house upkeep if you work a full time job and a family, is having the chance to pay someone for housekeeping services. That is the sad reality. My wife and I make a big effort to keep up with things, but we both work full time. Therefore we are always behind on house projects.
Have done it ever since I could so probably before 10 years old – amazing how many people are either ok with living in their own filth or have no consideration for those they live with (share houses can fucking suck!).
By about age 10 my dad had me wiring outlets and plumbing with PVC pipe. I don’t even remember when I started doing my own chores.
As the only son of a single mother i’ve bern raised to know how to be independent. Thanks, mom.
Nope, not until I moved in with my wife and realised she wasn’t going to do everything for me
Childhood chores
other stuff too; feeding pets, vacuuming and deep cleaning the car, painting the fence
I was ironing my clothes and my parents clothes when I was like 6. I was very independent and my parents would let me do new things which was awesome. When I was 3 years old, I would help my grandmother in the kitchen, she even remembered with her dementia and told me when she was in hospice.
When I was old, I did my own laundry and would help my parents fold their clothes, especially folding towels, which I still love folding to this day. When I got older, I would vacuum daily and also take the trash out, I would mow the lawn when I was 12-13 and had the best lawn on the block.
I would help my Mom cook, I’m an okay baker, I’m excellent at looking at things in the oven and judging how much longer it needs.
Now in my mid 30s, I very much dislike cleaning, but I also am a neat freak.
They’re not exactly things you need to be taught.
My mom is a feminist so I had to make my bed, pick my clothes, help clean the house, do the dishes and cook from an early age as she just wasn’t all that keen on doing none of those things herself. Not that they are hard or complicated, just laborious. She wouldn’t do laundry or get groceries either, that was my dad’s duty. She ended up divorcing him despite all of that. Never believe when a woman say the reason you can’t get women is because you don’t do any of those things, it’s a lie.
As a teenager, by my mother, way back in the day. At 15 I was doing my own laundry, starting the fires (and cutting the wood), stacking the dishwasher, and emptying it, making my own bed, etc.
Also I often cooked my own meals after I went vegetarian at 16.
I had chores for as long as I can remember.
Grew up in a wealthy household. Chores were always done by a maid. Needed to upgrade when I got girls. Women will not cook or do housework and I learned that the hard way.
My dad saw his children as a form of house slaves so despite there being 5 of us, our house had to be spotless before he came home from work. If it wasn’t, he would erupt like fucking Krakatoa and force us to clean it like military style with toothbrushes and stuff while he got hammered and shouted instructions at us from his recliner.
So yeah, pretty early on I would say. Although it wasn’t so much taught, as much as it was screamed into us. Fear played a big role.
Didn’t have many chores around the house but my room was the only one my parents never tidied or cleaned. If it was messy or dirty, it was my responsibility to clean it. They’d help me if I also helped them with the rest of the house, but that was a quick “no i’ll do it myself” from me haha. When I got older they also added the upstairs bathroom to the rooms I had to keep clean.
Interesting responses, good question! As a younger GenX, I was doing most things by 9 or 10 while caring for my younger siblings because both parents worked full time jobs. We also learned some sewing and cooking and cleaning skills (rudimentary, but enough) in middle school home ec.
The experience wasn’t universal though, as I had similar age friends I went to college with or met later in life who didn’t know how to do much of anything when it came to cooking or cleaning, keeping the yard tidy, or doing the shoveling or maintaining the outside of the house either.
No one taught me, but I did live alone for a few years and that helped teach me to be independent. That way, I have the luxury of picking my wife every day, instead of being reliant on her.
My mother didn’t, and passively prevent me from doing it. But still complained that she was doing all the chores.
I had to learn all by myself at uni. It has been harsh.
I teached to my kids as soon as they were able to walk. By 6, they could all do something to eat. At 8, they could all do pancake, eggs, etcetera. They do the dishwasher and make the first floor in place.
Now, my mom is willing to teach my children to cook. But it is too late.