How I Tricked My Kids Into Doing Chores | Giftie Etcetera: How I Tricked My Kids Into Doing Chores

Friday, February 20, 2015

How I Tricked My Kids Into Doing Chores

I truly believe that parents have an obligation to teach children to care for the home and for their families.


chores, homemaking, childcare, housekeeping


In that spirit, each day after school, my kids do about fifteen minutes of daily chores. Those chores are required and non-negotiable. The kids "earn" one hour of play time on electronics (e-credit) for doing those chores without grumbling or complaint and in a timely manner. 

But make no mistake. They must do the chores before they can do anything else. But they get e-credit if they do them to specifications and cheerfully.

Also, if we are having company or their rooms get out of control, they might be assigned a weekend chore to clean rooms or the guest bathroom.

For a long time, that was all that we expected of them. But they keep begging for more e-credit.

So I made a list (pictured above). If I hated doing it (like cleaning the microwave) or if it was an every-now-and-then chore (like matching the unmatched Tupperware), it went on the list.

(Yes, I misspelled it as "Tubberware." Consider that proof that my list is authentic!)

For each task, the boys earn one hour of e-credit.

Now they beg (especially on weekends and during school holidays) for extra chores to do. They do them cheerfully. No money is involved, electronics are still limited, and everyone is happy!

They can also purge one toy for ten minutes of e-credit. Twelve toys have gone to Goodwill this week alone.

How do you get your kids to do chores?

Etcetera.


Partied with: Home Matters

5 comments:

Hilda Rodgers said...

I LOVE these ideas! Getting them to beg to do chores and having them do them without grumbling is amazing. And the decluttering for more screen time... I need to do that with my kids! Thanks for the great ideas!

Anna said...

The biggest thing at first was the learning process. There are many years when they are younger where it would just be easier to do it yourself. And part of that was a learning process for me, how each kid thinks differently, and does things differently. Now that they are 9,11, and 15, they are a lot of help!
My biggest thing now is making it a part of our daily routine. My kids have pretty good attitudes overall about their chores. The problem is remembering to do them, or choosing to do them instead of playing or reading. There are a few morning after breakfast chores, and then supper clean up, which includes straightening up clutter around the house. Once a week is "room inspection." Other times, their things just need to stay in their own rooms in not too great a state of chaos.

Unknown said...

This is a great idea! My mom used to bribe us with money LOL These days this kind of incentive is much better! Thanks so much for joining us at the #HomeMattersParty - please share us with your friends, and we hope to see you again this Friday!

Unknown said...

This is a fantastic idea, I've been struggling to get my daughter to cheerfully do chores. I may try this! Thanks for sharing. Hopped over from #sharingtime

Mrs. White said...

This is a wonderful idea! Getting children to work around the house is so important! Great job!