Creating a Chore Chart That's Right For You

As my boys get older, I am learning how difficult it can be to teach them to pick up after themselves and help do chores around our home. It is challenging to motivate my kids to want to clean.

Personally, I do not like to clean, so I understand why they would not want to do it. But, it is a vital part of our household and it is important to be teaching them important skills for their lives. Today I’m going to be sharing with you the secrets to creating a chore chart that’s right for you and your family!

Creating a Chore Chart That’s Right For You

Surprisingly, I have found that my kids actually love helping out. They like to have a job to do and enjoy feeling productive. Over the past few months I have tried a bunch of different ways to create a normal routine for doing chores.

For us, the most effective way is by having a chore chart template. Not only does it provide my kids with guidance as for what is expected of them, but they like having a chart to mark off the tasks as they complete each one.

When my husband and I first started using chore charts, we were pretty clueless. I thought my kids were too young to have to do chores, but we quickly learned that even our youngest, at two years old, was capable of completing simple tasks.

In addition to my tips below on creating and using an effective chore chart that’s right for you, we have found that it is important to get your children excited about using this new system.

Chore charts are only effective if:

Age appropriate chores & clear expectations
Individual Incentives
Have an easy to understand chart & place in common area

Secret 1. One of the most important parts about having a chore chart is selecting age appropriate chores for each of our children. My boys are 5, 4 and 2, so they are each capable of completing different jobs. Kids have to be able to understand what they need to do and what your expectations are for each household task.

It will take some time to get into a good routine with chores. Your children should know upfront what you expect them to do, which means you will need to show them exactly how you want it done. We made this mistake when we first started by having our oldest make his bed in the mornings. When I went in to his room to check out his bed, I was surprised to see that his idea of making the bed was putting every item he could possibly find in his room on to the top of his bed. I then realized that I never demonstrated or explained how he needed to complete this chore each morning. It took a few days of practice, but he eventually got it and was very proud of himself.

Related:

Here are a few of the chores we have our children do. If your kids are older, you will want to make sure you choose age-appropriate chores for them as well.

2 year old:

Put dirty clothes in hamper
Clean up toys on the floor
Dirty dishes in the sink
Clean up spills
Clean up bedroom

4 – 5 year old: {include tasks from above}

Make bed
Set table
Clear table
Dust (Sarah’s kids are obsessed with this duster and always ask to use it to dust! They also fight over who gets to use this vacuum sweeper here)
Dog’s food & water
Garbage
Rake leaves
Weed the yard

Secret 2. It is a personal choice whether you want to provide an incentive to your kids for doing chores. There are certain tasks that my kids are expected to do that are not on the chore chart, like putting their shoes away and brushing their teeth everyday. Then, there are other tasks like cleaning and putting away laundry that are considered a chore that they are rewarded for doing. Having a reward can really help motivate your kids to chip in around your home, but that is a personal decision you can make. I know a lot of parents who are not comfortable with paying their children for doing chores. Their only pay is their child completes a side job for money because they are expected to do the other daily and weekly tasks. Here’s a list of 15 ideas of side jobs your kids can do to earn money and here’s a list of 40 things YOU can do to earn side cash.

We have found that having individual incentives have worked much better with my kids than just using one. Since each of my kids are different, their interests are different as well. I have one child that has a sweet tooth, so his idea of an incentive is candy, while another loves getting rewarded with money for his piggy bank. No matter what the incentive may be, the important part is finding what is best for each of your children.

Download the free printable chore charts here:

Secret 3. The last thing that we have found that worked well with our kids is using an easy-to-understand family chore chart that was visible in a common area.

You can use this free printable chore chart for your kids to help motivate them to do chores around your house. I wanted to make sure that my kids were able to follow along and understand the chart as well as being able to see it everyday. We have our chore chart hanging on the side of our fridge for our boys to see. They are then able to mark off the tasks each day or each week as they complete them. Currently, we have three chore charts. Two for my older boys, so that they could each have their own, and then one with pictures for my younger son.

When I first started making the chart, I had my oldest son look at it to see what he thought. Instantly he got confused and was unsure what he was looking it. So, I made sure to revise it made it as simple as I could for my kids.

Use this blank printable chore chart to fill in each of the chores you would like to have your child do around your home. The top half has a place for daily tasks and the bottom has a few lines for weekly tasks.

No matter what you choose to do the important part is the learning process. Even though your kids may grow out of chore charts, you have still built a solid foundation for teaching them how to be a productive member of your family.

If you’re looking for more chore chart ideas to choose from, click here…