With three kids, it used to seem like I spent the majority of my day following behind them and cleaning, scrubbing, or picking up their toys. Add in laundry, cooking, and dishes, and it was clear something needed to done to ease my work load. I made chore charts for kids so they could learn some responsibility, and I could, hopefully, take an hour off my daily chores.
There is a five-year age difference between my oldest and youngest, so I had to come up with chores that were age appropriate for each child. I thought about giving the oldest more chores, but he would get upset that he had more work. I decided to give them all the same number of chores, but the oldest got more difficult chores than the youngest.
For the first few weeks, they only had three chores per week. All chores had to be completed every day to get credit for the week, but I did give reminders. When they got used to checking the chore chart, I added a few more quick chores.
My older two children can read, so I wrote their chores on the chart, but my youngest can't read yet. I printed pictures of her chores and wrote the words so she could practice reading skills.
I decided to reward my kids with cash each week. We call it their allowance, but they must earn it by completing their chore chart every day. If they miss a day or one chore, they are not allowed to make it up. Their chores are age appropriate, and I give them reminders an hour before bed, so they have plenty of time to complete their jobs. It only took one week of not getting paid to learn to check their chart daily.
Since we started using chore charts for kids, they are helping around the house more. They get a sense of satisfaction when they check off a chore, and they definitely enjoy pay-day. They are learning responsibility, and I've noticed they are cleaning up after themselves more. It also makes my daily chores easier because they have done some of the work, and that gives me more time to spend with them having fun.
Does your family have a chore chart?
Photo credit: Flickr.