At what age do you think would be to start having your daughter do her on laundry?

Question

My daughter is almost 13...she wears about 5 different outfits a day, then puts them in the laundry basket. I want her to see how much more work she is causing me. So I think she's old enough. Am I being to hard? Dad says I am.

this is great, getting answers from teenagers too! I guess I just thought since I am a stay home Mommy...I need to do it all. But geshhhh enough is enough!!

Answer 1

No, you are not being to hard, Momma. I am fifteen, and I do my own laundry, plus my Mom's and Dad's. This also includes the towels and stuff like that. When I was twelve my mom made me start doing my laundry because I was like your daughter, only maybe worse, because I'd go through at least eight outfits per day! I didn't iron my clothes but I washed and dried and folded them. Then, I just started doing my Mom's and Dad's and now I get payed 20$ a week. It's not much, but doing laundry teaches me responsibility. Wow, that sounds corny. But the bottom line is that, no, you're not being too harsh.

Answer 2

I started doing my own laundry as well as the household laundry when I was about 8. Ironing came later (LOL).

However, in situations where a point needs to be made, the earlier the better. My husband and I had some issues of cleanliness with our daughter when she was about 6, so we began having her do her own laundry (under supervision). This worked out well to eliminate the behavior that we found to be undesireable (she did not like being made to wash her own clothes). She is now 11, and is responsible for her laundry as well as her bathroom laundry, and for helping her brother to learn how the washer works as well. There is no reason that a child at 13 should be going through 5 outfits per day without understanding the problems that she is causing for her parents.

K

Answer 3

13 is definitely old enough to learn about doing her own laundry... thats the age I started doing laundry. From the time I was 10 I was helping to sort colors while my older sisters actually did the laundry.

My mom had us all learning about the house and doing chores from about 6 or 7 for an allowance. Its great because in college I knew all about taking care of my clothes and cooking. I was always amazed at my roommates when they were upset because you couldn't wash red socks with a white blouse.

You're not being too hard, you're teaching your daughter responsibility. Dad is off the mark.

Answer 4

FIVE different outfits in one day! Does she KNOW how much electricity and gas costs these days? Okay LOL, yeah if she's old enough to change that often then it's time she learns about cause and effect and does her own clothes. That's what my mom did with me when I started changing a few times a day and in the end it was a great help. I was one of the few freshmen in college who knew how to iron and wash my own laundry. If Dad still disagrees, let him do the laundry and I give him two weeks or less before he's on YOUR side. Good luck.

Answer 5

Hello, I'm not a parent, in fact, I'm only 15. But I've been doing ALL the laundry at my house for several years. I don't think that 13 is too young, in fact, it's probably a good idea to give her a set responsibility like that. It would also probably be a good thing to show her how her actions affect others. (In this case, how her choice to wear so many different outfits, affects how much you have to work)
But hey, that's just my opinion, and I'm just a 15 year old.

Answer 6

Well wearing 5 different outfits a day is ridiculous. Keep doing her laundry (it just isn't right or a good idea to make her do it), but take your time over it. Just wash as much as you normally would and eventually she'll run out of clothes. Then when she asks why you haven't washed her clothes you can just tell her you can't keep up with the rate she's wearing it all.

Also anything she puts in the laundry that isn't even very dirty, jsut hang it straight back up, don't bother washing it.

Answer 7

I have my kids "helping" me with laundry already - the youngest is 3.
I started doing laundry myself when I was 12. My brothers on the other hand made it to their 20's having no idea how to work a washing machine!
I think 13 is old enough to do her own for sure!

Answer 8

No! Not at all!! My daughter is 9, and she has been helping me do the laundry since she was 7. Last year, I started having her do a few loads per month of just her clothes, and now she is responsible for most of her own. If she doesnt wash it, it usually doesnt get washed. It has been really good for her, and is teaching her to be more self-sufficient. If she hasnt done it before, I would help her for a while, but she should have to see what its like.

Answer 9

My parents never made my sister do her own laundry and she is now 28, lives on her own, my dad goes over three times a week, gets her clothes, mom mom washes, folds irons them, and my dad takes them back. I am so very irritated because I learned how to do my own laundry at age 10. 13 is old enough. Dad's will never recognize that their girls are big enough to do anything for themselves. Tell him he can do it if he thinks you are too hard on her and be sure to tell him about my sister and see if that sounds like fun. Pretend it is someone you know so it will hit closer to home for him.

Answer 10

I do not think there is a fixed age for that. It also depends on the reason she does that - have you been very poor - in such cases children (parents too) can behave like that (that is my experience) but that will just disapear after a while.

Maybe your husband can do the laundry together with your daughter (they seem to be in agreement it is necesarry to make so much laundry)

Buy a good washing machine (no dryer they are a pain in the neck) and washing is fun.