Latest news with #chores
ABC News
5 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Four couples on how they split household chores
Are chores a bone of contention in your household? While some couples take a divide and conquer approach based on strengths or schedules, for others, a roster or spreadsheet helps get things done. There are also circumstances in which — intentional or not — one person shoulders the bulk of responsibilities. We spoke to four people about the different ways they handle chore splitting in their home. Claire Jensen, 38, Townsville/Gurrumbilbarra, married with three teenagers How do you split the household chores? I have a lot of health issues and work long hours through the week. My husband Chris cooks every night and does a lot of the cleaning through the week. He also helps with organising our children's support workers and appointments. I know my husband is not the norm though. I do all the clothes washing on the weekends, and any other jobs that have been missed through the week. On school holidays I do deep cleaning of some areas. How we manage the chores has evolved over time due to my decline in health. What would you like to change, if anything? I think we have a system that works for us most of the time. How are chores divided in your household? We'd love to hear more perspectives: lifestyle@ Gray, 38, Brisbane/Meanjin. Lives in a share house with their partner and teenage son, and three other adults How do you split the household chores? We have myself, my partner and my teenage kid living on the top level and three adults on the bottom level. Each level has a bathroom, but we share the only kitchen upstairs and office space, and have a shared laundry downstairs. We take care of the main upstairs and the other three do downstairs. We have one housemate who does the lawn. He enjoys doing it. Some of us are more proactive than others. I tend to not be great at tidying and leave things like paperwork and clothes on surfaces and chairs, but I do a lot of the deep cleans. The dishes stay under control since I purchased a sliding dirty/clean magnet for the dishwasher. My teenager keeps his room clean, does his bedding, and washes his clothes. My partner and I tend to try and split the cleaning but depending on how stressed we are sometimes that falls harder on one person. What would you like to change about the arrangement, if anything? I'd probably get my teenager to pitch in more. He has always kept his room spotless and has been doing his own washing since he was about seven. That seemed so great for his age, I think I just never pushed him harder to help more. I'd love a regimented cleaning schedule for us to stick to. It would help me, too. Samantha Popovski, 39, Brisbane/Meanjin, married with one teenager How do you split the household chores? My husband Dusko is in charge of the outside — maintain the pool, mowing lawns, putting the bins out. He is also the "finance minister" of the house, as he calls himself. I used to be in charge of paying bills, but always forgot to do it. I'm in charge of the inside — cooking, washing, shopping. Things like floors, dishes, and the bathroom are alternated. We do most of our cleaning before guests come over, so split things that need doing. Our 14-year-old daughter is responsible for unloading the dishwasher and helps with washing. She vacuums and cooks about once a week. What would you like to change, if anything? I'm pretty happy with the way it is mostly, but I do feel like the coordinator of it all and have to ask Dusko to do things sometimes. I also have trouble giving up control of certain things because I don't trust anyone to do it the way I like. I'm trying to be better at letting go. When I'm away they both seem to survive. Kylie Bartlett, 48, Sunshine Coast, married with four children, two teens living at home How do you split the household chores? We share everything. If something needs doing, one of us will get it done. If anything, my husband Sean does more than me. He's the one that cooks dinner every night and does the groceries, and does all the gross chores, like cleaning the toilets and bathrooms. I do most of the laundry because I have a system and I enjoy it. I make the bed because I like the way I do it better. I love a good spring clean. Our kids have always had chores to do and so everyone does something whether it's the dishwasher or feeding the animal — we all just get on with it. We are proud that our kids have grown up seeing both mum and dad doing the chores and that chores are a part of life. While they're not that fun, they still need doing. When the kids were younger, I felt a huge pressure from society to be that super woman/wife/mum so I'd be prepping meals for the week. I was the main cook, I did the bulk of the care giving, bath times, bedtimes, and housekeeping as a stay-at-home mum. Then over the past 10 or so years I've had injuries, and then cancer, which made it impossible for me to do much at all. Sean had to step right up and take on my roles. What would you like to change about the arrangement, if anything? The only thing I want to work on now that I'm healthy again is getting back into cooking. I love cooking. I'd like to try reclaim my love for it, and also my recipes that Sean has used over the years… and dare I say improved. But the rest of the chores he can keep, if he wants.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Alexis Ohanian Reveals How He and Serena Williams Dole Out Allowances to Their Two Kids
When your parents are worth a combined $450 million, you'd probably think that your weekly allowance would be the least of their worries. However, that's not the case for doting parents Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian, who recently admitted to taking their children's finances very seriously, especially when it comes to paying them for their assigned chores. Related: Serena Williams Cheers Herself up With New Daughter Adira After Admitting She Was 'Not Okay' Ohanian explained his thoughts about doling out a weekly allowance on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, when he shared a video of himself talking about how he and his wife had to negotiate — first with their daughter, and then with one another — about how to set up a chore and payment system. According to the father of two, they set the terms of how their oldest daughter Olympia would get paid in exchange for finishing certain chores. Ohanian said that Williams than worked as Olympia's lawyer, drawing up a contact and having all parties sign the document to seal the deal. Apparently, Williams has a calling as a lawyer though, because Ohanian later joked in the video that she'd managed to negotiate a pretty sweet deal for their daughter, which allowed her to take the weekends off. "We're trying to create that flywheel between doing the work and getting the money, and then understanding that there are things you could want," he continued. Eventually, Olympia also got to learn a bit about budgeting, when she spent all of her money on a toy she wanted, but then didn't have anything left over a few weeks later when she wanted to buy something else. 'I need [Olympia] to feel that little bit of pain of, like, 'Ugh, I gotta wait two more weeks for that paycheck,' and then start to remember, 'Because I do this work, I get this money,'" Ohanian explained of his reason for not just giving his daughter the money himself. "We're trying to build the muscle: work = reward. Good things come when you work for it." We couldn't agree more! And, if they keep it up, we're sure Olympia will realize that in no time. What a smart idea! Up Next:
