Constantly Battling with the Kids Over Chores? A Chore Chart May Win the War

A constant battle, we as parents face, is getting our kids to do their chores. You know the frustration of asking, begging, pleading, yelling, and telling them over and over again to get their chores done. If this is painting a good picture of how things are around your house, then read on. If not, be thankful you have kids who dutifully do their chores completely and consistently.

For those of us who are not blessed with kids who love to do chores, or a maid for that matter, a chore chart just may be our salvation. You can put all the usual tasks on there; you know, such kid favorites as: Taking out the garbage, doing the dishes, feeding/cleaning up after pets, cleaning their room, yard work, laundry, housecleaning, etc....Any chore on the list must be done once or twice a week. If you're looking for them to do the chore more than that, you're being unrealistic. Of course, the exceptions are: Feeding, watering, and walking any pets.

As your kids complete each chore, they are then allowed to put a check mark next to it. At the end of the week, when the chart is filled with checkmarks, there will be a great sense of satisfaction on the part of both you the parent, and your kids. During the week, they'll feel good marking off each item on the chart, when it is complete, it will give them a sense of pride and accomplishment and motivate them to continue to the next chore.

After the chore chart has been introduced to your kids, it's time to talk about the incentives for completing all the tasks on the chart. If you are so inclined, you could use monetary incentives. You can offer a bounty in different amounts based on the complexity and time commitment involved in doing the chore. If you do decide to go the cash route, be sure the amount is age appropriate and consistently given on a regular basis. A good guide to aid you in how much is to give your children is $.50 per year of age, per week. For example, if you have a 9 year old, you can have all the tasks on the chart total to $4.50. For any chores not done, that amount of money is docked from their weekly pay out.

This method is actually twofold. You are teaching them independence and responsibility by doing chores. You are also teaching them fiscal responsibility. If the job isn't done, they don't get paid for it. You can also take it a step further by introducing savings and charity. If you want, you could have your children divide their pay into thirds. Give them 1/3 to spend how they see fit, 1/3 to put into a savings account or buy bonds with, and 1/3 to use to help those less fortunate and allow them to pick a charity to donate it to.

Depending on their age, you can also introduce a ledger to them. Have them keep track of money saved, money spent, and money donated on a computerized spread sheet, or in a notebook. You may also want to give them 3 different containers so they can keep the amounts in the appropriate container.

For those of you who do not want to use monetary reward for chores, you need to set just as clear rewards for chores completed. Perhaps, each chore completed can translate into x amount of minutes of an activity. For example, doing the dishes earns an extra hour a week for video games, over the allowed weekly limit of video game time. Maybe if they complete every chore, they will get to accompany you to a movie. What you can do is write the rewards on a piece of paper. Give your kids a container to store them in. When they wish to use their reward they have to present the "voucher" to you.

Whatever reward system you come up with; I guarantee if you implement a chore chart, the tasks will get accomplished regularly and with less resistance. Just make sure you are consistent with giving out and withholding rewards, whichever the case may be.