Chores has become a four-letter word in our house.
For way too many years I did not give my kids chores, I didn’t even make them clean their own rooms. I mean, I would tell them to do it…but when they didn’t, I would just do it myself.
I more recently realized that by doing things this way I am not doing them any favors.
How are they going to learn to keep their own homes clean if I am not teaching them to do these things now and how to do them correctly?
Not only that, but chores teach kids responsibility.
The trouble I am running into is how to get the kids on board.
We have tried a myriad of different games to make it a little more fun. I tried to do the spinning wheel app, but they kept landing on the same ones that were already done. *facepalm*
We hit up Pinterest for ideas, but none of those kept my kids interest either.
The ONLY thing that has worked in my house is competition!! The oldest 2 want so bad to be the “winner” that they not only do the chores quickly, but typically singing and dancing while doing them.
I basically have a notebook with all the various chores listed and numbered. They draw a number from the bowl and rush off to do it. Once completed I put a mark on the tally sheet and at the end of the day we add them up. The winner usually just gets something small, but the competition is the real fuel.
This doesn’t always work, usually just for an overall house cleaning day before a party.
On any regular day we have a schedule to adhere by that includes chores, school work, and meals.
What have you found motivates your kids to do their chores? I would love some new ideas to try!
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