At what age should children start doing their own laundry?

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

At what age were you required to do your own washing, and did this correspond with the age you that you expected your children to take on the full responsibility of doing theirs?

Modern Country no.7 · More Info

I've heard the occasional case of children who have moved out visiting their parents just to have their laundry done for them!

Would this not fly with you, or would you be happy to do your children's laundry no matter their age? Share all thoughts below!

As a teenager

Once they've left for university

When they've flown the nest for good

Other - comment!

Featured Answer

PRO

User

6 years ago

I think it's a good idea to start teaching kids how to do house chores from a very early age, like 5 or 6. Naturally when they are very young they can just assist and learn how much laundry liquid to use, that you need to separate colours and whites, how to recycle etc. That way they will grow up used to doing their own laundry, washing up, hoovering etc. It is usually loads of fun for them too and it is a form of quality time that they spend with parents engaged in activities together.

Comments (9)

annarocks123
6 years ago
I started doing my own laundry at about 14 as I had come to the conclusion that the best way to have the top/skirt/trousers that I HAD to wear at the weekend, clean and ready to go was to wash it myself. When I went to uni and meet people, mostly boys, who had never done their own laundry and had no clue how to do their own laundry I wad horrified. Surely the point of parenting is to raise adults; doing everything for children until they leave home is not raising them to be adults, you are leaving them to be raised by whichever actual adult is kind enough to do the job you couldn't be bothered to.
PRO
DIY Kitchens
6 years ago
I would say if the child can cook safely then a washing machine should be introduced to them very soon afterwards:-)
Related Discussions
Aging-Gracefully-In-Place: Tips for reno or new builds
Q
Comments (34)
Good morning to Dorset from Scotland! My husband had a birthday last week and is now saying we're 'pushing 60'. We're active and fit, lol, but sensible too-the day will come sooner rather than later when one or both of us is not able to claim to be spry. Because the little cottage is in such a sad cosmetic state it was listed at a rather amazing price and we locked ourselves into it too early thinking it was a perfect spot for us to grow old. Whoops, thanks to several posts here about doing a reno or new build with a mind to age-in-place we are having to admit that is not the house for us. Luckily the town is the 'gateway to the glens' and if we wanted to use it as a holiday let we could easily. It's also becoming a commuter town-the hardier type people from Dundee and Aberdeen are buying in to take advantage of the great mountain lifestyle whilst being able to easily commute to their 'day job'. We were not looking for an investment property-not especially keen on the idea but more and more we're thinking that's what we've got. We measured the borrowed wheel chair, and also took the measurements of the typical mobility devices available now (the ones that are adverted as being in-outdoors), and frankly held up against the kitchen and bath measurements, there is no way we can make the bathroom work. Up thread (I think it was Deborah Butler of Brickwood Builders) a wet-room was mentioned as being best to accommodate a roll-in shower but hard to do as a reno project. Looking at the floor-plan, home report, and our own measurements confirmed that on this wee cottage-there is no way to do that and no way a wheelchair or mobility device is going to be rolled in that cupboard size bathroom. The kitchen could be managed if we drop the pantry wall idea, but the bathroom we planned to make a shower room is not manageable at all, and there is no room to extend that space. We would have figured all this out but much further down Reno Road, lol, so this thread has been a huge help to us just on that! Because we're now doing a much simpler reno (dropping the wider doorways and sliders, the ramp, and a few other a-i-p doings), the cost to renovate that lovely wee home is much lower too. The only things we won't be able to do ourselves is the shower conversion and the rewiring. A huge savings that we're going to need to find the right place for us! We know now that we need to look for a home with room to enlarge bathroom and kitchen areas, and with a less tricky entry to incorporate a ramp. For starters:) We have to be out of our current home by 1st August when the new owners will be arriving from Australia. We've borrowed the use of a caravan from friends to live in whilst doing the cottage reno (now that's small space living!) and that's going to be a help but I sure wish I'd joined Houzz sooner! I would have started this thread BEFORE locking into a property too small for our needs. Too, rather than use it as a holiday let or sell it on, we may move into the cottage once the reno is complete but we do know now there is no way we'll be able to age-gracefully-in-place in it. Sigh. Oh well, our builder is happy-he wasn't keen on trying to fit those sliding doors:) Take-Away For the Day? Be sure the property has room to expand vital living spaces before making an offer that is sure to be accepted:(
...See More
Do you own a Dyson?
Q
Comments (99)
I used to 'do' for a lot of people, and I found Dyson's to be the most unreliable vacuums. The main problem seemed to be loss of suction, followed by overheating. They are not particularly robust, are extremely noisy and their height makes it difficult for doing under beds (I always found the hose extension awkward to use too). They are also overpriced. The best makes that I have used are Miele, Sebo, Oreck and Henry.
...See More
What practical feature/item do you secretly crave for your house?
Q
Comments (98)
Lights which automatically turn on when I enter a room (especially in the kitchen and in the hallway from the bedroom to the bathroom) and lights inside my wardrobes (especially inside the one in the bedroom: I often get up earlier than my hubby, and it may be still dark outside, and I don't want to wake him up while I'm looking for my stockings).
...See More
Garden design help please - greenhouse and children's play area
Q
Comments (2)
@lisamarie1000 it looks like you've got quite a blank canvas to work with there but as well as giving lots of opportunities it can also be quite daunting if you don't know where to start. As a starting point I would look at where the sun falls in the garden as this can be important for growing vegetables and the greenhouse which need to be in as much sun as possible. Draw a plan to scale of the garden and use cut out shapes to represent the different areas (growing area, play area, sitting area etc.). You can place these on the plan and move them around until you get a layout that you are happy with. The size of the shapes needs to be big enough to represent what their use is. You can also base this on the dimensions of the house such as location of windows and doors. Try to avoid pushing everything to the edges as this can just draw attention to the boundaries and make the space feel small. Think about how you would move through the garden to get to the different areas. If you are going to have a path through, it will be more interesting if this isn't just a straight line down the middle. By making the route through have changes in direction you can add focal points (such as the apple tree) and make the garden seem bigger. If space is tight consider growing vegetables mixed in with ornamental plants so that the garden doesn't look like an allotment. Finally think about using screening with tall plants or trellis at various points so that you don't see the whole garden at once. This can also make the garden seem more interesting and enticing.
...See More
ash4711
6 years ago
When I was living at home we had no washing machine and Mum did everything for me. Probably because I was young and thoughtless it didn't occur to me to do my own washing and ironing. That changed when I said my blouse wasn't ironed how I liked it, so Mum said do it yourself then. That was my first big wake up call and I'm quite ashamed of how I was back then.

Probably because my only child was a boy I did his laundry till he left home at 18, he did nothing, no cooking DIY or anything, but he has turned into a very practical man who can do anything, a lot like his mother!

Washing back then was a chore, mostly done by hand, but kids today opening the door of a washing machine and stuffing clothes in is no big deal, and no one seems to iron anything any more. Children need to learn to cook, that is most important thing parents can teach their kids.
PRO
Saku Design Studio
6 years ago
I started doing my laundry at 10 coz I had clothes that I deemed "too special" to send to the school laundry. I think it is important to teach children at an early age so that they don't feel like it's a bother when they're older and fail to take care of themselves. I was also horrified when I got to high school and a lot of the girls there didn't know how to wash their clothes. I actually taught a few the basics.
Ola Hill
6 years ago
My daughter is 10 and has started doing all the family's laundry for me because I've been injured. She gathers all the laundry, sorts it, washes and dries everything. I think it's going to be her permanent responsibility, right along with unloading the dishwasher every morning. I started doing my own laundry when I was 10 because I was in boarding school and had no choice. I can't comprehend high school kids who don't know how to use a washing machine. It's really not that hard.
PRO
Hampshire Design Consultancy Ltd.
6 years ago
One of my children learnt how to use the washing machine and sort laundry before he went to secondary school, he thought it was a novalty, my daughter learnt how to read care labels at about 14 to put into tumble drying, and my other son does sort the laundry and put it on and tumble dry, but they all pretend they don't know how to....lol! My husband knows the least about how to put the washing on but he is a domestic angel in every other way, so he is let off.
Lena
6 years ago
My 12-years old's chore is to unload the dishes (he would rather forget about that, so he is constantly reminded). I'd love him to do his own laundry, but we are not there yet
lisa77226
6 years ago
At 10 years old or sooner. If you wait until they're older you'll get back chat. If they've always known how to do it there is no excuse when you need them to start taking more responsibility for themselves. At 10 I could not only do laundry, but I could make basic evening meals. By 14 I could keep a whole house including managing my first bank account when I started working after school. I also recall speaking to a utility company to sort an issue on my mothers behalf at her request (not something that could happen now) because she was working. Why wait to teach your kids these things? They'll take in what they can but constant exposure will fill in gaps as they mature.

At what age should children start doing their own laundry?

User

Comments (9)

annarocks123

DIY Kitchens

Related Discussions

ash4711

Saku Design Studio

Ola Hill

Hampshire Design Consultancy Ltd.

Lena

lisa77226

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US