How to Make Family Household Chore Time Fun and Effective

Chores - few kids (or adults!) like to do them, but teaching kids responsibility not only helps you out with the task of keeping a house in decent shape, but also enhances a child's self-esteem as they begin to view themselves as an essential part of the family and household. Here are some ideas on assigning and carrying out chores in a way that will make your kids enjoy them a bit more.

First, assign chores:

1. Job Jar: Make two jars, one for the kids and one for the parents. Be nice - put the less pleasant jobs like cleaning the toilet in the parents jar and the fun jobs like dusting in the kids jar! Write each chore on a strip of paper. Then make it a fun drawing with a lot of fanfare as each family member pulls out a job. An extra incentive might be to list a little treat that the worker receives upon completing that task such as an oatmeal cookie or some frozen yogurt.

2. Job Spinner: Make two separate circles out of cardboard, one a bit smaller than the other. Divide the smaller circle into pie pieces - the number depends on how many tasks you need done that day and how many people there are in your family. You might include things like - empty and reload the dishwasher, fold and put away the laundry, vacuum and dust, mow the lawn, empty all trashcans and take out, etc. Have fun having each member use the spinner to receive a chore. Once a chore is taken, a player has to spin again if they spin it.

3. Musical Jobs: Make up the same number of index cards as the number of people in the family who will be working. On each card, write a chore. Then deal the cards face down. Put on some music and have the family sit around a table. The cards are passed around the circle person to person as in musical chairs until the song ends. You do the job that you are "stuck" with at the end of the song! For extra excitement, make one card a FREE DAY card!

Then, make it fun...

1. Music: A little fun music makes everything easier. Put on some old eighties disco, some salsa, or something else your family enjoys! Dance and work the time away! Have your computer-savvy kids make a "chore" mix and burn a CD for future use!

2. Scavenger Hunt: Before the work begins, hide some prizes around the house. While everyone is working, they can also be searching for the prizes! Make a rule that work must be done while the searching is going on - otherwise, you'll have a lot of searchers and few workers!

3. Timer: Just to add the excitement of a race atmosphere to the work, set a timer and see if everyone can finish their jobs within the allotted time. If everyone completes their work, pull out a special surprise like brownies!

4. Switch: Before you begin chores, assign everyone a partner. When the bell rings (about halfway through), have partners swap jobs to reduce the boredom factor! Judge the work and give the team that wins a special surprise!

5. Tag Team: Divide the family into two teams and assign each team a list of chores. Every five minutes, a timer bell rings. The first person tags off and the second takes over. The relay continues until one team wins by finishing all of their tasks properly.

6. Payday: If you give allowances, then make the end of chore time a mini-payday! Pay each member for their work and thank them for a job well done!

Chore time doesn't have to be a miserable, argument-filled event if you save some of the bigger, less frequent jobs for a weekend family chore event. Make it a celebration, emphasize how wonderful it is to work as a team and get things done quickly and efficiently, and reward the family for their hard work. Some reward ideas include a family picnic, a family movie night, a trip to the park/beach/museum etc, a video game competition, board game night, a family bike ride or hiking excursion, or a meal or dessert out.