3 Cheers for Chores

Getting things done around the house is a dilemma for EVERY parent. It’s especially challenging for those of us who are (ahem)…messy.

From the time my oldest son George could walk and hold a broom, I started having him help around the house. He was DELIGHTED to help me when he was a toddler. However, the DELIGHT soon wore off and he’s no longer excited about holding a broom.

Sometimes, I’ve wondered if it’s really worth giving my kids chores because of the CHALLENGES that come with asking my kids to help.

Challenges with kids doing chores:

• It can leave me with a a bigger mess,
• It takes more time than if I just did it myself,
• It usually involves some whining, crying, and complaining about how HARD life is because of ALL.THE.WORK.

However, when I step back and re-evaluate, I know that the benefits FAR outweigh the challenges.

Benefits for kids doing chores:

• Children learn how to contribute to the family,
• They learn how to keep things tidy
• Their future spouse will THANK YOU,
• They learn that they can do HARD things – which builds their self-esteem,
• Chores help them mature,
• Doing something with their hands releases feel-good chemicals in their brain that protect against depression.
• Many studies show that kids who help at home are more confident, compassionate, resilient, and grow up to be more successful!

Chores are one of the best mediums we have for teaching kids about being part of a family, and about belonging, significance, and teamwork.

Lynn Lott

You aren’t just giving your kids CHORES, you are teaching them LIFE SKILLS – things they benefit from the rest of their lives!

How you keep track of chores is up to you. There are chore charts of every size and every price available online … and I’ve tried several of them!

Here’s a simple chore system that’s working for us this summer.

1. Find one container for every child in your family.
2. Write your child’s name on the container.
3. Take several clothes pins and write 1 chore on each one.
4. Clip the chores your children need to do on their cup
5. When your child has completed the chore, they can put their pin in the cup.

I didn’t come up with this system, it’s just one I found on Pinterest!

My sister started this simple system, and then sent me this picture of her girls (ages 4 and 7) cleaning their bathroom!

She said, “My girls love this visual and tactile system.” They see what they need to do, then get to put their clips in the cup when they are done!

When my boys ask to do something, I can just look to see if there are clips on their cups, and I say: “As soon as your chores are done, sure!”

Here are some ideas of chores your kids can do:

Do you have a system that’s worked for you? Leave a comment and share it with us.

And to everyone reading – Best wishes for you getting things done in YOUR house!