Mum’s list of 11 school holiday chores sparks debate online

A mother has sparked debate online after sharing a list of daily school holiday chores for her kids to complete before they can enjoy screen time.

The woman divided opinion when she shared a photo of the extensive printed list of “school holiday rules” on the popular Facebook page, Mum Central.

“Hitting print! Do you have any school holiday rules?” wrote the mother, alongside the photo of the list, which is displayed on the family’s fridge.

The instructional list informs the children they can enjoy as much time watching the iPad or TV as long as they complete 11 outlined tasks.

The initial tasks involve getting ready for the day by making their beds, eating breakfast, getting dressed, brushing their teeth and their hair.

Then, the kids are required to spend 20 minutes reading, 20 minutes writing or colouring, cleaning up one room of the house and playing outside for 30 minutes.

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However, the chores don’t stop there – the children are also required to build or make “something creative” such as Lego, crafts or sand, before helping a family member with a task.

Only when each of these tasks have been completed by the children, can they watch TV or play on the iPad.

Parents’ praise school holiday rules in the comments

The controversial school holiday rules list quickly gained traction online, amassing 145 shares and over 200 comments from parents who praised the thorough list.

“This is actually a really good idea!” wrote one parent in the comments.

“Love this! My kids are allowed to be on devices from 7am until we are up (9 or 10) and then it's interesting as we don't have specific rules…the above would be great,” wrote a second.

“We have very similar rules, it works well for us. Ours is for weekends and school holidays,” wrote a third.

While other parents joked that their similar lists weren’t popular with the kids in their house and iPads provided “free babysitting”.

‘Holidays for us are winging it with no fun police’

Meanwhile, several parents criticised the seemingly “strict” list, saying that school holidays were for downtime.

“Yeah....nah. Holidays for us are winging it with no fun police. We take each day as it comes. Each to their own though,” commented one woman.

“School holidays…more like any home days,” criticised another woman.

While one father didn’t hold back, saying: “These are stupid. Let kids enjoy their vacation. Do you do all of these things on your vacation before getting on electronics?”

Previously, a list from parenting blog Flanders Family divided parents online with its “age-appropriate” chores list.

The checklist suggested that children aged two to three should be taking out the trash, setting the table, and carrying firewood, while those aged 10 can mow the lawns and cook.

However, the Focus on the Family Australia website urges parents to “remember that every child matures at a different pace” when assigning chores.

The website also says children aged four and five can start to be shown to use a family chore chart.

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