Got my 9 and 11 year olds outside to help rake leaves yesterday. Lasted about 6 minutes before they were 'tired.' Meanwhile I'm out there busting my ass while they're sitting under the tree watching YouTube on their tablets. How do you actually get them interested in this stuff? Or should I just accept that I'm raking alone until they're teenagers?
This is the age where they don't get WHY the yard needs raking yet. Consequences feel abstract. By like 14-15 they start to get it but yeah 9-11 is rough.
6 minutes is actually pretty generous lol. My kids will do about 90 seconds of actual work before they "need a break." The break is usually them finding TikTok or something
My strategy is I just do the yard work myself now and they're responsible for their own rooms. Turns out when they have to live in their own mess it motivates them way more than abstract "help dad" stuff
The 'watching YouTube under a tree' detail got me. That's peak kid behavior - they can sit there for hours but can't rake for 10 minutes
6 minutes is pretty generous tbh. Mine last about 90 seconds before the complaints start. At what point do you just do it yourself?
This is the age where you have to make it worth their while honestly. Movie night after yard work gets done. Or let them pick dinner. Small incentives work way better than just expecting them to care about lawn maintenance
Try framing it different - make it a race or a game instead of "chores." My 8yo will actually participate if there's a timer and a (small) reward at the end.
The sitting under the tree watching YouTube thing is what gets me. They'll scroll for HOURS but actual work is impossible. It's selective energy.
Try framing it as a game or giving them specific tasks instead of just "help me rake." My 9yo will actually engage if she knows she's clearing a certain section by herself. Still slow but at least she's trying
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I feel like I'm breaking child labor laws trying to get mine to help. Then I remember I'm literally asking them to rake their own yard.