Kid's Chores: How to Make It Successful

My kids (ages 7 and 9) do a LOT more chores than all their friends. I am getting a degree at ASU and go to college full time plus work part time. I NEED their help! I don't use TREATS at all! I tell them, no one pays me or gives me treats to do it. It is just part of life and keeping a house neat. If they want clothes to wear, they help with laundry. If they want clean dishes, they help. Every day they must take out the trash and clean up after the pets before they can play. They are learning responsibility and duty. Who will give them treats when they are adults?

Our chore list has a point system. Each chore that is completed each day is worth a point. At the end of the week, the points they earn determine their reward. For example - 50-55 points earns a $3.00 allowance 55-60 points earns a $6.00 allowance And if they get all 63 points they get to pick from our activity jar. We filled a coffee can with little slips of paper that we wrote things on. We wrote stuff like 1 trip to Cold Stone Creamery, Your choice of game with mom and dad, $5 to spend any way you want at Circle K, etc. We also added one slip that was a trip to Castles and Coasters (to sweeten the pot), and added some slips that were more like penalties - You get to wash dad's truck! (to make it risky and funny). It still works a year later =)

God bless your family.

My 4 children, ages 18, 13, 10 & 6, each have responsibilities in the house. When they are really tiring of their chores, we mix them up so everyone can get new ones. Often, they prefer to keep the ones they have. :)

We homeschool - each day the kids eat breakfast, do chores, do school, eat lunch, then have free time. The sooner they do their chores, the sooner they have free time!

My children get allowance so they can learn how to spend and save money. But they do chores because we are a family, all live together and need to work together to keep our household up and running. Everyone needs to pitch in and that is why we ALL have chores.

My son is 6, and he gets an allowance for chore help. He gathers dishes and brings them to the sink, he collects dirty clothes and brings them to the washer, he loads and unloads the dryer and helps me fold and put away the clean clothes, he sort of keeps his room clean, and he helps me make dinner, all for 5$ a week. So far he is really good about helping when I ask him to, and we have been doing this for a bit more than a year. As he grows and can reach things we will add to the list and possibly to the money.

Our motivation is that no tv or computer or anything until daily chores are done. And they rotate on a weekly basis, for example, one person will one week have dishes/kitchen duty, the next week bathroom duty, the next laundry, etc, whatever they're developmentally able to handle. (laundry may wait until later for doing w/o help, for example). A quick wipe down/tidy up every day after school and on Saturdays a complete cleaning, with the switch on Sundays.

My kids are younger than yours so I give them both 1 job each (they are 6 & 4). They take the trash out and sort out the recycling (seperating paper and plastic) and they put it out the night before collection. They both get $1/week for this and they can spend the money as they like (they usually only manage to get to $5 and then want to spend it , and they buy things like crayons , color books or they have a good rummage through the $1 baskets in Michaels.

We have had a chore chart since my kids were in K & 3rd grade. We have just made it a habit, and since they know that they are expected to help out they now just do their chores when it's time, mostly without complaining. My kids do get a small allowance, as well ($2). I think it's important for them to learn that we all work together to keep our home nice. If you want, send me an email and I can send you an attachment including our chart. That way you would have an example to go by. :)

I have four still in the house. THey are 16,14,12,9. This is how we do it.
I have 8 rooms that need to be cleaned.
Cleaning includes picking up, dusting, vacuuming or sweeping. Bathroom kids wipe down sink and do toilet and floor.
Each child gets two rooms on Saturday.
They are divided like this,
Dog duties, Dining room, foyer;
kitchen, Computer room
Cat duties,upstairs bath, downstairs bath
piano room, tv room

Dog person feeds the dogs adn picks up poop if necessary
Cat person changes cat litter and feeds cats
Each day the chores rotate on a 4 day schedule. Cat day, dog day, kitchen day and an off day.
Everything is on the calendar. During the week the dog person feeds and takes care of the dogs and cat person scoops the litter and feeds cats. Kitchen person does dishes.
THeir reward is a clean house and beign able to have free time on Saturday afternoon and Sunday.
I use markers with C D and K to designate on the calendar who has what day, each gets a color.
This has worked for me for 6 years.
My oldest is now in the Navy and when he comes home will ask what day he is on.
Hope it helps.

The very best effects I have had myself and have seen to be effective in other families is to keep my own attitude toward chores cheerful. With my daughter and now again with my 4yo. grandboy, I assisted with the chores while they were young, singing and making games out of them, admiring our results and congratulating each other for a job well-done. And I would take pleasure in my own work, and satisfaction in the results.

That's a much more worthwhile "treat" than a material reward, but I think the occasional treat, family game night, dessert, or small payment for a job over and above regular chores is probably appropriate. Avoid "bribe" language, though, such as "I'll give you a goody IF you do this chore." That puts too much manipulative power into a child's hands, and kids don't have the restraint not to use that power.

My daughter became more grudging about keeping her room clean in her teens, and I pretty much allowed it, but didn't step in to keep her clothing wearable. That was completely up to her, and she always did at least minimally as much as needed. As long as she wasn't attracting vermin, she was old enough to assume that particular responsibility, or not.

But her years of passive resistance have long since passed, and she's a much better housekeeper than I am. And her son is on track for his age, cooperative and becoming more capable by the week.