Getting work done with children

My father-in-law once told me that one of the reasons he did not like working for his parents was that they never praised him.  It got me started thinking about how I would like my kids to do work for me and how I like to work.  Here are some ideas I have.

1. You could do it faster by yourself.  This is not the point: the point is that when they are 20 and find themselves with something that needs to be done, they know how to do it or at least how to work at a task that is difficult until it's done.
2. Work with children needs to be limited.  There is no end to work: I frequently find myself tidying up, "just one more thing," over and over and it never seems to be done.  We wash, fold and put away the clothes only to put our dirty clothes in the laundry basket as we go to bed.  This is depressing to me, but to a child who just wants to get away and have fun it is excruciating.  So it makes sense to artificially limit the work and provide an end point to work towards.  Even if not everything gets done, the work will be more pleasant.
3. Rewards are helpful.  Some parents say, "Well I don't work for a reward when I mow the lawn or make dinner or..."  Others say, "We work to get paid when we are adults, so kids should get paid for their work too."  The truth is (as usual) in the middle.  We help each other because we are part of a family.  But some jobs require a reward of money, or a fun treat, or an outing, or something else.  All the jobs should get the reward of a parent thanking the kids for their contribution.
4. Fun is helpful.  I'd rather just get the job done, but if the kids sort the laundry better by throwing it across the room, I'll leave and let them to it.  The work is more important than the precise process, and laughter makes many things less painful.  I like to listen to "bad news radio" as I work, but with kids we listen to fun music.
5. They need to see that you are working too.  If you are not along side them, then at least tell them the work that you are doing at the same time.  I always find it more fun to work with someone---I've long thought that we should get groups of women who go to each others houses and clean with each other.  Cleaning someone else's house while talking is fun, cleaning your own alone is boring. Doing a job while your parent (appears to be) relaxing seems unfair.
6. Consistency is more important than finishing everything.  Cleaning something for 10 minutes every day for a week is better than cleaning for an hour.
7. Build in time to clean up the equipment. For a long time I couldn't figure out why we would finish work, but then I'd be left to clean up the rakes, etc. by myself.  When I figured out that if we stop 5 minutes early to put everything away everyone takes care of their own tools, I'm not left with a lot of solo work, and (if we're lucky) the kids learn a good habit.

There are many things that I haven't figured out, for example: What if the job gets done badly through laziness or inattention?  How much is the right amount of work?  How much to help?   What tasks are suitable?

Maybe tomorrow (or sometime) I'll write about the game we play based on Ticket to Ride: Ticket to Clean.