How do "part time" family members fit into the household chore rotation? Each family will have its own answer.
How do chores and chore cards fit into a blended family? If a child is only in the home every other weekend should they have regular chores or treated more like a guest in that regard? Each blended family has its own unique circumstances and will approach chores from a very individual point of view. At our house, the one member of our family whose primary residence is elsewhere (with his biological father) does not have assigned chores in the traditional sense.
My feeling is that he is with us so seldom; I would rather spend the time we have together more constructively than having him scrub a toilet. Do not get me wrong, I still teach him how to do household tasks; I just do not require him to participate in the weekly cleanup on a regular basis.
If the rest of the family is engaged in household chores, Casey does help. Much like a guest would if they were at your home and dishes needing washing after a shared meal. He also assists with pool maintenance and watching or entertaining his younger siblings.
The idea is not to make him feel like a guest or that he should not be required to play a part in the running of the home but that our time together is so precious that I do not want it spent cleaning.
If there comes a time when he decides to live with us, he will have a more active roll in the household maintenance, until then he will have to get most of his housework training at his father’s house.
