Chore Chart for Kids and Parents!

I used to complain about the family chore chart as a kid, but to be fair to my folks, it was the best and fairest way to keep track of who did what and when, and that alone saved a lot of arguments. Both me and my sisters had our own chore charts and sometimes we could swap our jobs around for convenience. I never had what you might call a mumsy Mum, and so there was no getting out of the household chore list in our house.

Most of today’s kids get away with having to do very little to help out around the home, but the question is why? Why do modern parents feel so bad about asking their offspring to do their bit? Maybe this is the reason we have so many women that can’t even cook and egg after they get married, and useless men that wouldn’t know where the oil was in the family car, let alone change it!

There were no ifs or buts about it in my day, all us kids had our jobs to do. For me that meant ironing my own shirts, washing dirty dishes, and mowing the lawns during the summer months. Yet despite all my winging back then it has done me more good than harm in the long run, and all those old mates who never had to lift a finger around the house have turned out to be pretty useless individuals on the domestic front.

Without wanting to sound too corny, it is often by doing those things we dislike doing the most which help us to grow into better human beings. I resented my mother for making me help out with the ironing, cooking, and cleaning, but by golly am I grateful to her now, because many of my mollycoddled friends were pretty useless when they setout into the big wide word for the first time, and some still have problems as homemakers.

Personally, I’m not an advocate of strict discipline around the home. After all, it’s supposed to be a home, not boot camp. I’d go as far to say that an over authoritarian grip on the kids is unhealthy! But firmness yes! That’s firm but fair, and kids chore charts can be a great way to allow the children to manage their daily or weekly chores without the parents having to constantly nag them about it.

Hi, I've been working for quite a number of years now as an in-house counselor for troubled families. I specialize in families with troubles kids which have behavioral problems which are often disruptive. People who have unruly children, for whatever reasons, are often at their wits end, and calling me, an outsider, in to help, is often when parents are at the end of their tether.

The first thing that I try to establish with the family is a routine. So many times these families have been spending so many hours in meetings about their child that they have not established a routine. We discuss what needs to be done each day and what time frames work for each family. I explain to the parents that it is important that each child no matter what their age, needs to be included in the tasks. The easiest way of doing with is by developing a chore chart or printable chore list. I like to include everyone on the chore chart. Even the youngest child can be involved with picking up toys.

The chore chart is established for a week and with families with older children I just have them rotate which tasks they are going to do each week. The tasks on the chore chart are things that the family identifies as important to them. There are the standard tasks of washing dishes, helping with meal preparation, taking out garbage, folding and putting away laundry, dusting and vacuuming. There is also keeping bedroom areas tidy and helping with grocery shopping or the putting away of groceries.

Of course, quite often it's the teen chore charts that are the hardest to adhere to simply because they are at an age where they just want to be hanging out with their mates, and every minute spent indoors is a minute lost outside with their peers. But even so, if the routines are adhered to, even the most troublesome teens will eventually fall into line and realise that it's easier to just go with the flow.

My ideal of working with a chore chart is that everyone participates because they are a member of the family. For some children we may tie in allowance money or additional privileges for the completion on tasks to begin with, but then teach them the importance of completing the chore chart because the things need to be done and it is the responsible thing to do as a member of the family.

It's a good idea for Mums and Dads to offer some kind of a reward scheme for tasks completed on the chore chart. Most parents in the West have a lot of trouble getting kids of any age to help out around the home, but oddly enough this has never been an issue amongst Asian and African families. Part of my job is to get parents to acknowledge that by allowing their offspring's to shirk away from household chores does little to equip them with these simple but necessary life skills.

Another little trick is to show the children that the parents are also written onto the chart and they too are expected to complete their tasks. This simply avoids conflicts where kids feel hard done by and believe their parents are getting them to run around doing stuff so they don't have to.

Quite often, when the kids come home from school or play, they are amazed at just how many tasks mum has done during their absence. But one of the great things about involving the kids in the household jobs is that many great conversations can be had with a child while completing tasks together.

Here's a Summary:

If you want the kids to appreciate the value of money, then get them involved as soon as possible in the household tasks. Although probably a little controversial at first, the household chore chart can really help get those little jobs done around the home, and it won't be too long before the chore chart for kids becomes synonymous with pocket money. There are plenty of printable chore charts online, so why not grab your kids chore chart right now!

Reader's Submission below:

Chore Chart for Families (Including Parents)- Submitted by Becky Wilson There use to be a lot of screaming and yelling in our house over who's turn it was to do the dishes, or who was the last one to take out the trash, clean the bathroom, bedroom, or any of those other little jobs around the house that kids will try to get out of if they can. I'm sure we're not alone! But there was no mistake on who was scheduled to do what duty once we got the chore chart for families pinned up. And once we kids saw all the jobs that Mom and Pops had to do compared to our couple of menial task, gratitude and harmony was restored back into home life. Therefore, I fully endorse the chore chart for families. They might take a while to work, but work they will with a little patience.

Chore Charts for Teenagers Work if you Work them!! - Submitted by Anonymous Mum I had enormous problems with my eldest boy when he hit those adolescent years. He was a nightmare to control and asking him to help out around the house was like walking on egg shells with leaded slippers. However, I did look into chore charts for teenagers and decided to get one and pin it up in the kitchen as a test. Well, to cut a very long story short, this chore chart somehow got him to help out where verbal requests failed. He loved to tick off his name when his jobs were done and often came back asking to put more jobs in available slots. I don't know why it worked, I just know it did, and for that I'm so grateful. Simply amazing!