Leo, the king of our castle

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Bunny chores - the division of labor between kids and parents

Before Leo came home, we talked to the kids about the related chores and strategized about ways to divide them so they were equitable. Leo is technically my son's bunny but I always expected that I'd supervise and do many of the chores myself. I'm pleased with the way things are working so I thought I'd share our routine.

Daily Morning Chores (before school/work). Approximate time needed: 10 minutes. My 12 year-old son does all of these. He has the most time during the morning rush.
  •  Let Leo out to stretch his legs
  • Feed daily pellet ration
  • Change water in dish
  • Prepare morning veggie plate (about 1 cup of mixed greens)
  • Add more hay to the litter box
Daily Afternoon Chores (when we get home from school). Approximate time needed: 15-20 minutes. I split these with my 9 year-old daughter.
  • Let Leo out of his cage (he stays out until we go to bed or leave the house) - my daughter
  • Add more water to dish - my daughter
  • Clean litter box - me
  • Sweep x-pen with a whisk broom (most days) - my daughter
  • Prepare afternoon veggie plate - me
  • Brush Leo (usually while he's eating veggies) - me
  • Vacuum if hay and fur outside the pen is getting out of hand (about every other day)
Before Bed Chores. Approximate time needed: 5 minutes
  • Find Leo and coax him back to the pen - my son or daughter
  • Check water and hay and top off if necessary - me
Saturday Chores. Approximate time needed: 20-30 minutes.
  • Wash litter box - me
  • Clean the x-pen (take everything out and sweep/vacuum the Cottontail Cottage, the carpet squares, and in the nooks and crannies) - my son
So far the division is working well. I've encountered very little resistance and I've let the kids choose the chores they like. We purposely do the afternoon chores right after we got home from school so they get done before other activities intrude. I certainly expect the kids to help, but not so much that they start to resent the bunny. You might notice that my hubby doesn't have any assigned chores, but that's by design. He put in many years cleaning a cat box, so I gave him a pass when we were discussing getting a rabbit. He does help out when I ask him to.

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