Parents share 25 funny anecdotes where they realized making kids do chores is a tough nut to crack
Asking kids to complete household chores is not as easy as it sounds and parents know it very well.
Convincing kids to tackle household chores is a Herculean task for parents, met with groans and eye rolls at every turn. As a result, they go to great lengths to devise excuses just to avoid doing the work they have been assigned. From claiming sudden illness to saying that they have homework to complete, the list of excuses is endless. Nobody can blame them as well because doing chores is not fun for all.
I rank my kids by how many chores they do and how much they complain.
— James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@XplodingUnicorn) August 9, 2015
My favorite child is the Roomba.
Many users on X have been sharing the creative responses that they have received from kids who were asked to do chores. Some of them have also shared hilarious anecdotes where they realized that they can work their fingers to the bone but still can't make children interested in chores. Here are 25 of the most hilarious tweets that summarize the playful nature of little ones.
1. An attempt to make chores fun
6-year-old: I don't want to help clean the house.
— James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@XplodingUnicorn) November 12, 2016
Me: It doesn't have to be a chore. It can be fun.
6: You can have my fun for me.
2. Parents sometimes adopt tricky tactics too
My dad told my daughter she was the best duster ever then leaned in to me and whispered “if you tell kids they’re amazing at the chore they don’t bitch about doing it” and suddenly I’m questioning if I really was the most amazing weed-puller he ever saw
— Katie D (@KatieDeal99) January 18, 2024
3. Asking genuine questions
My kid: “So… like.. do we just do chores every day and every day until we die?”
— Jewel Staite (@JewelStaite) January 25, 2022
4. Kid math
Son: I've agreed to do one chore a week
— The Dad (@thedad) October 4, 2022
Me: I think you can double that
Son: Okay... one chore every 2 weeks
5. Rewriting the rules
I made a chore chart for my kids, and this morning I noticed my son erased everything on his list and just wrote relaxing. The chore chart has spoken.
— Marcy G (@BunAndLeggings) July 21, 2020
6. Nobody wants to do chores
Me, to 6yo in closet: What are you doing?
— Jessie (@mommajessiec) August 26, 2018
6yo: I’m hiding so I don’t have to clean.
Me:
6yo:
Me: Mind if I join you?
7. Crucial moments of doing a chore
My kids understand that the most important part of any five-minute chore is the forty-five minutes they spend fighting over who's going to do it.
— James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@XplodingUnicorn) September 2, 2022
8. Turning off the Wi-Fi
Kids: *feverishly cleaning*
— The Baby Lady (@thebabylady7) July 21, 2018
I can’t believe it took me this long to realize that all I had to do was turn off the Wi-Fi and now I control the universe.
9. Got himself into that one
My son just whined that he was bored and my wife whipped up a chore list so fast, I think she might have a superpower
— The Dad (@thedad) July 18, 2019
10. Memories fail when it comes to chores
My 7yo when he forgets to do HW or chores: “I’m just a kid!”
— Vu Le (with one E) (@NonprofitAF) December 4, 2020
My 7yo any other time: “On 11/26/18 at 9:17am, a sunny Monday with intermittent clouds, you said that in 2 years you would get me a Voltron Lego set. You said, and I quote, ‘mm-hmm,’ which is a legally binding yes.”
11. Sometimes it's best to just do it yourself
Make life interesting by giving your preteen the chore of putting away dishes so you can
— NatashaAnn (@looksliketuttut) August 22, 2020
a) never find anything ever again, and
b) narrowly avoid death from a pots and pans avalanche every time you open the cabinet
12. Priorities
My 11 y/o daughter wanted an allowance so we started negotiating a chores list but she put up her hand after a couple minutes and said, “Okay, this is great, but like when do we work in some self-care here?” Kids always know who to put first.
— NicholasG (@Dad_At_Law) December 12, 2022
13. Sibling delegation
Me: "Who's the best sweeper? I need a good one."
— Stephanie Ortiz (@Six_Pack_Mom) September 20, 2016
7y.o, pointing to 5y.o: "SHE is!"
Damn. Time to dig deeper into my bag of chore tricks.
14. Unrealistic goals
Son: do you have any extra chores I can do to earn money?
— Tessa the RedNosed Rein-Dare (@TessaDare) December 16, 2021
Me: sure. How much are you looking to earn.
Son: $500
Uh… this house only has so much grout, kid.
15. Chores only happen in fairy tales
My kid’s assignment was to write about her chores, so I asked her if she started it with “Once Upon a Time” because kids doing chores only happens in fairytales.
— krista pacion (@kristabellerina) September 8, 2023
16. No idea what he got himself into
The look on my Kindergartener’s face when I read his Mother’s Day Coupon Book out loud. 😳
— Be Kind Of Witty (@bekindofwitty) May 6, 2022
Poor kid blissfully colored in that little book, having no idea he was agreeing to help with chores.
17. Outliers do exist
My kid got so bored he asked to do chores, so if you need me, I'll be over here on my fainting couch
— meghan (@deloisivete) August 1, 2023
18. Drastic measures to avoid future chores
We rotate chores for the kids each week. This week son was on laundry duty. He just…lost an entire load of kid clothes. Like, we can’t find them anywhere in the house, yard, garage, storage. Anywhere
— Jason Warner (@jasoncwarner) October 24, 2022
I’m semi convinced it’s an attempt to be taken off future laundry duty
19. Can't really blame them
No one is full of more false hope than a parent with a new chore chart.
— Simon Holland (@simoncholland) May 25, 2018
20. Dentists can relate
When my kids assure me they will clean up their mess, I know how my dentist must feel when I assure him I will floss.
— The ParentNormal (@ParentNormal) January 9, 2019
21. No compromises for ice cream
Weird how my daughter didn’t hear me tell her 72x this weekend that she needs to put her laundry away, but the ice cream truck just jingled its tune 8 blocks away and she Usain Bolted outta here with a fistful of cash no problem.
— Kim Bongiorno (@LetMeStart) September 3, 2018
22. One can keep hoping
I made a chore chart for my kids, and I'm positive this is the one. This is the chore chart that will change my life.
— Marcy G (@BunAndLeggings) December 3, 2023
23. All about convenience
Kids are so fucking mercurial
— Linda Tirado (@KillerMartinis) January 19, 2021
Two days ago it was a screaming meltdown because fifteen minutes of chores was, according to the kid, “literal child labor, mom” and today it’s “maybe if I do my chores I’ll find my lost toy, great idea mom!”
24. Really high prices
First day of summer vacation so I told my kids to propose a daily chore list and a fair compensation system and long story short, I just got home from work and I guess I already owe them $725 and a trip to Disneyland.
— NicholasG (@Dad_At_Law) June 7, 2021
25. Truly frustrating
“UGH, you’re ALWAYS making me do chores!” - any kid who’s asked to do a chore for the first time in 2 weeks
— SpacedMom (@copymama) January 30, 2022
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