Mariah Carey‘s 7-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe are growing up — and ready for an allowance.
“The other day Rocky gave me a piece of paper that had ‘My Chores List’ and all the things he had done,” the singer, who is kicking off her new Las Vegas residency show “The Butterfly Returns” in July, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Then he was like, ‘You know, we need some money for that!”
Carey’s twins (with ex-husband Nick Cannon) just celebrated their birthday on Monday, and “it’s just a great time to see them and watch them evolve as people,” she says.
Want all the latest pregnancy and birth announcements, plus celebrity mom blogs? Click here to get those and more in the PEOPLE Babies newsletter.
Both kids are becoming more independent, and the star — who opened up about her battle with bipolar disorder exclusively with PEOPLE last month — is also trying to keep them as grounded as possible.
“They’re learning to do things for themselves a little more,” says Carey. “They have nannies and people who help them, so of course they can start to think that’s normal, but it’s not. They need to learn how to do things for themselves!”
For all the details on Mariah Carey’s residency and life with her 7-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
The entertainer loves late-night swimming sessions with her children and first put them in swimming lessons at just 3 months old.
“They’re like fish,” she says. “They’re great swimmers. A lot of times, the kids are like ‘Can you make tonight a night off?’ We’ll go night swimming. They love that … and I love the water.”
Moroccan and Monroe will also be traveling with Carey to Vegas for her shows, which will be a more “intimate” experience with fans than her last Vegas residency.
“They love [Vegas] and there’s so much fun stuff for them to do there,” says Carey. “They’ve actually come out on stage with me a couple times. They like to sing ‘Always Be My Baby.'”
