What chores are appropriate for a 16 year old?

Question

In your opinion, should 16 year olds do chores? How many and what type? Does your answer differ based on gender of the teen? Would you expect a teenager of this age to keep their room clean, or do you allow them to make a mess of it? Should chores be explicitly stated by the parent, or should the teen just know to do them?

Answer

I think a 16 yr old is capable of any adult chores. Anything you can do they can do. I’d start with getting them to clean their room- dust and vacuum etc and do their own laundry, fold and put away. Mop the floors, wipe down counters, even mow or rake leaves etc. make them in charge of dinner one night a week- take them grocery shopping and they can make a list and get all the things. All these things they will have to do on their own in 2 years- may as well start learning! They are fully capable of helping!

Answer

Gender is completely irrelevant. 
It’s all pretty individual with kids and what expectations should be though. Homework and school should be priorities. After school hobbies or a part time job next. They all have different abilities/limitations and schedules. Keeping their own shit together, and some basic stuff toward keeping the house together should be expected though. The details of what exactly are irrelevant, not to much but not nothing either. 
I’m a big believer kids should have their own private spaces. I wouldn’t enforce room cleaning if it was just messy. If it crossed over into filthy or hazardous I would step in.

Answer

16 is too old to not be doing any type of chore regardless of gender. If you live in the household, I expect you to pitch in without being asked multiple times

Answer

I think all kids should pitch in to keep the house in order since they are members of the family. For a 16 year old, that could be anything really since they are old enough to do what adults do. I would probably just go over what needs done each week and ask him/her which 3-4 things he/she wants to be responsible for that week. I also agree that when he/she is busy, school comes first and other obligations like sports, band, hell week for theater, etc. may mean there are times when he/she wouldn't be expected to do much, if anything a given week, but there may be other times when my life is crazy and I need extra help. As for their room, as long as it is not unsanitary, I believe it is their private space and they should be allowed to keep it as they wish.

Answer

At that age anything. 16 year olds are capable of doing whatever daily chores an adult can do. And gender shouldn't factor into it at all. 
Also I think it's widely accepted now that boys should be taught how to cook and clean, but girls still aren't often taught how to do things that have traditionally been regarded as more masculine...like mowing the lawn, checking the oil in the car, changing a tire. Handywork around the house. Etc. Whatever you would teach your teenage boy you should teach your teenage girl, and vice versa.

Answer

I expect all members of my home to be responsible for Mai training it to whatever extent they’re able. My two year old cleans his own room. But I had to teach him what that meant. He knows that cleaning his room means pick up toys, make the bed, put his bear away, put his clothes in the drawer, put books up. I’m teaching him how to be responsible for his stuff and his space.

Answer

Gender doesn’t matter (I hope that is a given for everyone). When my son was 16, I expected him to keep his room clean, do his own laundry, prepare dinner at least once a week, clean up the kitchen when it needed it, and anything else I asked for help with. We had mutual respect for the work each other did to run the household and go to school and work. He always did what I asked without complaint

Answer

Well… my 3 year old son has chores already 😂 not anything hard. Puts his dirty clothes in hamper, will bring me his bedding when it’s time to wash. Will help wash dishes. He enjoys them. I grew up with chores and see nothing wrong with them. In my opinion it teaches responsibility 🤷🏻‍♀️ at 16 there is no reason why a child doesn’t have chores

Answer

People of all genders should know how to do all chores. So I would split them up evenly and rotate the chores between them each week. Everyone in the household should be pitching in. Teens can do anything adults can do. ￼In addition to the chores they do in common areas, they should be keeping their rooms cleaned and doing their own laundry. It may be worth it to actually write out a chores list for each person until it becomes a regular habit for them.

Answer

At 16 I was literally doing everything in my parent's home. I was also a full time care taker of my Nanny, raising my cousin who was 2 at the time, and caring for my brother who had been run over by a truck I would go to his home as often as I could. Am I going to force my kids to be a live in slave like I was? No, but a 16 year old is perfectly capable of doing every single chore in the home and should have a rotating schedule to get pleanty of experience with each chore. At 16 kids should know how to do everything in the home, cook, shop, budget, and be learning how to pay bills/write checks/balance bank accounts.  
As of right now my newly turned 2 year old helps clean the house and has since she started walking. She helps pick up toys, put laundry in the hamper/wash/dryer, throws away trash, helps wipe down the table, helps sweep and mop, helps cook, helps clean the counters, and helps feed the animals.

What chores are appropriate for a 16 year old?

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