One of the biggest challenges parents face today is how to get kids to do their chores and actually enjoy doing them. It can be a constant battle, but there are some tricks that can help you come out on top. For example, if your child isn’t old enough to understand why they need to help out around the house, you could start by explaining it in terms of family responsibility – everyone has their role and needs to play their part.
This will work for older children as well; another trick is tying rewards into chores such as allowance or other privileges like time with friends or video games. And finally, if none of these tricks seem to be working (and believe me, I’ve tried all three), bribery usually gets the job done!
Kids To Do Their Chores – Start by assigning one chore to your child
I know it seems like a lot, but trust me – if they don’t do one every single day of the week, you will have drama on your hands. On top of that, doing chores is also an important lesson in time management; kids learn that they can complete one task per day and not feel overwhelmed by doing more. And lastly, by completing their chores every day, kids develop a sense of responsibility and pride in what they’re doing.
Every child is different, however, so be sure to adjust your standards accordingly. For example, you could ask for them to make their bed or brush their teeth first thing in the morning before school instead of cleaning up after themselves around the house every single night.
Make sure the chore is age-appropriate and not too difficult for them to complete
For example, a list of chores for a 15-year-old could include: taking the garbage out, doing the dishes from dinner every night, making their bed, and maybe one or two more things. Keep in mind that younger children have shorter attention spans so instead of having them clean up after themselves around the house every single day, it is better to just have them do their chores once per week if they’re toddlers or preschoolers. For older kids with longer attention spans however you can ask for them to complete several tasks including taking care of their pets daily or straightening up after themselves all throughout the day.
Put a sticker on their chart every time they do the assigned chore without being reminded
After your child has filled up the chart with stickers, they can redeem their x amount of stickers for something like time to play video games or watch TV (besides their regular allotted screen time) for one night that week. Or if you want them to save up for a bigger reward, you could tell them that every 10 stars equal an allowance increase.
Reward good behavior over good grades; it will boost your child’s self-esteem and make them feel accomplished when they are doing their chores without being told. Most kids won’t do this unless they are getting something out of it so be creative! There are tons of ways to motivate kids without using rewards but sometimes bribery is necessary.
Give them an allowance for completing chores – $1 per day, or weekly if that’s more convenient for you
Keep in mind that it is important for kids to realize that household chores are not something they get paid for; this allowance should be used for things like going out with friends or buying candy.
Let them choose a privilege such as hanging out with friends instead of completing their assigned chore.
Be sure to ask them if they’d rather complete the task or give up the privilege and always let them choose what is more important to them. There’s no point in forcing your child to do something because chances are they won’t want to do it and will end up resenting you in the long run.
After they have completed all of their chores, give them a special treat like ice cream or movie night with friends
For older kids, this could include new clothes or tickets to their favorite sporting event.
When they start doing their chores without being reminded it’s important to reward them immediately so they learn that good behavior is not only something you should do but will also be appreciated by others around them.
Remember that it takes several weeks for most children to get into the habit of doing things without being told. Eventually though, if you follow these steps your child will grow up knowing how to complete chores, and eventually may even come to enjoy completing tasks. Which leads us to our next point – what happens when your little one finally does start loving their new chores? Well, I’ve got a few more tricks up my sleeve…
Repeat this process until it becomes routine in your household and everyone enjoys doing chores!
Once your child reaches the age where they are capable of understanding that you have faith in them and believe they can do it, their self-esteem will rise tremendously. And once you combine this with the reward system discussed earlier, they will start to look forward to doing chores around the house. Win-win, right?
Conclusion:
As a parent, you probably know the struggle of getting your kids to do their chores. If not, let me tell you – it’s frustrating and time consuming! But we’re here to help with this simple plan that will turn those pesky household tasks into something fun for everyone in the home. By following these steps every day or week (depending on what works best for your family), you’ll see how quickly things change as children start enjoying doing housework because they get rewarded with special treats once all their responsibilities are completed.
So why don’t we give it a try? It might just be the answer to making life easier around the house so both parents and kids can enjoy themselves more often together. Let us know how it goes!