For Moms it’s a never ending chore to get your kids in the habit of helping out with the house hold responsibilities. I also have to remind myself that teaching them responsibility now is good for them. I fall into the trap of finding it easier to do myself rather than ask them 17 times to put dirty clothes in the hamper, a dish in the sink, etc.
We’ve been trying out some new charts and ideas around here seeing what will help us have fun and stay motivated (Myself Included!)
I keep myself on task with this website, justmommies.com – I absolutely love their Home Organization Chart. It keeps me on task and shows my kids that even Mommies have to do “chores.” It breaks the household duties into small tasks, doing something daily, doing a little something each day helps keep me from getting overwhelmed. Print this out at the beginning of each month, pin on your board or on your fridge and take it one day at a time!
For the kids, we’ve been experimenting with different charts and recently came up with this version. The magnetic boards we found at the craft store. Use wooden disks or those clear floral beads/marbles as your chores. If your child can read, simply print out the chores they will be responsible for and cut out with a large whole punch. Mod Podge on to the top of the wooden disk or under the glass bead.
For children that can’t read, there are lots of free printables online from other Mom Blogs or some for purchase at minimal cost. If you’re a whiz with photo shop you can probably whip something up pretty easily. Just keep in mind that not all chores are great for every age. Keep tasks short and simple for the little ones. Older children should have no trouble loading the dishwasher or helping with the trash.
To keep my kiddos motivated, we have recently implemented the Ransom Box. The toys just weren’t making their way back to their proper locations in the playroom or their bedroom. We clean up after dinner every night. Anything that is left out once the kids go to bed gets put into the ransom box. If they want it back, they have to do a chore. Simple, and believe me when I say EFFECTIVE! To up the ante, our rule is that anything left unclaimed at the end of each week automatically goes into our donation box for Goodwill or Salvation Army. It’s a win win!
Use this picture to put on top of your box:
Add an envelope to the side of your box and fill it with chores. 1 chore per item they want to save.
How do you keep your children motivated to take care of their household responsibilities?
