Tired of asking your kids to take out the garbage or do the dishes and getting no response? Well, instead of having to ask all the time, start a chore chart—a chart that has the children’s names at the top running horizontally and the chores for kids listed vertically. Chores might include taking out the garbage, doing the dishes, cleaning their room, doing yard work, or putting laundry in the laundry room. After the children complete each chore, they can put a checkmark on the chore chart.
Now that you’ve got your chore chart printed, here are a few tips to get things started.
Yard Work
Scheduling: Once a week
Instead of a specific amount of time to work, give them a project or area that needs to be completed. Try to limit yard work to one hour for younger children. Work with your children so they’ll learn to do the tasks properly and safely. Be careful not to let young children operate machinery or sharp equipment. Give them tasks they easily can accomplish, such as raking leaves or weeding. Teach them life lessons as they work. For example, when you are weeding, ask them what happens when we don’t pull the weeds out of the flowers. (It will choke out the good stuff and the flowers will die.) “Well, the same thing goes for us when we don’t keep our lives clear of bad things, like saying mean things, or smoking or drinking. We can really get hurt.”
Helping with Dinner and Washing Dishes
Scheduling: One or two times a week (depending on how many children you have to rotate).
Most kids can start washing dishes around age 4 or 5 (but don’t include your fine china in this!). This task includes setting the table, clearing the table, putting leftovers in the refrigerator, rinsing dishes and putting them in the dishwasher, and wiping off the kitchen counter and table. Dad and Mom may want to pitch in if there are a lot of dishes to do.
Taking Out Garbage
Scheduling: One or two times a week (depending on how many children you have to rotate)
Most children can do this on their own by the time they are five years old.
Cleaning Room
Scheduling: Once a day
Even toddlers can learn to put things away. Cleaning their room does not mean shoving stuff under the bed or into the closet. It means that the bed is made neatly, clothes are hung up in the closet, and dirty clothes are put in the basket. Sports equipment, games, dolls, and books should be off the floor and put away.
Laundry
Scheduling: Once a week
Saturday is usually a good day for this, when the kids are not in school. Around age 4 or 5, children can start putting dirty clothes in the basket, taking them to the laundry room, sorting by colors and then putting clothes back in their drawer or closet.
Incentives
Allowance
If the children complete all their chores for the week, they get their allowance on Saturday. If they don’t finish their work, no allowance.
You may want to begin by giving 50 cents to a dollar a week for each year of age. For example, a 10-year-old would receive $5 to $10 a week. Allowance should only be given based on these specific chores that are assigned to your child. It’s not a handout; it’s earned.
But don’t stop there.
Help your child understand the importance of what we do with our money as well. Teaching children how to use money wisely can be difficult. It helps to use a very visual, hands-on method. Here’s how it works:
Share, Save, Spend
Each child receives three mason jars. When they get their allowance, the kids divide up the money among their jars. One jar is for spending, one is for sharing, and the final jar is for saving. They put half of their allowance in saving, at least 10 percent for church and the rest for spending. We want our kids to know that money is not just for buying things for ourselves but should also be used to help others. So give it a try. Help your children learn the fun of spending, the reward of saving, and the joy of giving.
Allowance Jar Tips
To make dividing the allowances into jars easier, keep some quarters and dollar bills around. When giving your children their allowances, show them their completed chart to reinforce a job well done. To help with both counting skills and responsibility, let your children divide their allowances among the jars themselves. Consider keeping little “banking” sheets in the jars to keep track of deposits. This will help the children see how their money is being saved and will teach them basic financial management skills.
Sound off: What chores do you have your kids do?
Huddle up with your kids and ask, “What is your favorite chore to do?”