10 Ways to get the Kids to do their Chores by So family All families are busy with work, school, extra activities and child care and chores add to the chaos. To try to enjoy your life and to instill lifelong values in your children, getting them to do chores is almost a must. Children have other thoughts about what activities they should be doing and it can be hard to get them to complete chores. Below are 10 great ideas to help your children complete the tasks of never-ending chores.

1. Have fun/free time for after the chores are completed

You could have a favorite weekend activity scheduled if the weekday chores are completed or free time each night a daily chore is completed.

2. Having a list of chores to be completed

Many children if given the opportunity get satisfaction from marking items off of a to-do list. The board can be a magnetic dry-erase board or it can be done on paper. 

3. Use a Timer

For chores such as straightening a room set a timer for a reasonable amount of time. Tell the children they have until the buzzer goes off to straighten the room.

4. Start young children out doing chores

The earlier small tasks are given to children, the easier it will be for them to get into a routine of getting things accomplished around the house.

5. If the children are young, make the chores like a game.

Toddlers and young elementary school age kids can even enjoy chores this way. Have them play a game to see how many toys they can put away in the toy box.

6. Be a role model yourself

Don’t expect children to not complain about chores when you as the parent constantly procrastinate and take too long with household chores.

7. Be organized

You can have different laundry baskets (one for each type of wash) and color coded or labeled baskets in play or kid rooms to make the chores more interesting.

8. Allowances

Kids love their own money and even though some believe this is a tactic only our parents used, it’s not out of date. Give a determined amount to children at the end of a week for completing chores.

9. Be honest and “real”

Explain to children why the chore has to be done and what could happen if it’s not. For example, if the chore is to hang their clothes in the closet, they need to know if it’s not done, they could lose their favorite outfit.

10. Praise!

Children need to be encouraged with complements about the job they are doing or have done. This will help them gain confidence and be more inclined to want to please their parents again.