Moms Talk: Chores, More Fun Less Hassle

Summertime for most of us equates to more kids (anyone else feeding the entire neighborhood?) and more mess: popsicle residue on your floors, fingerprints everywhere and a bevy of strewn about plates, cups, napkins, towels and assorted pool accessories. Summer is a lot of fun, but in some ways it is also a lot more work. If your kids can make a mess, they can also clean it up. Oh no, the horror of chores!

Nothing stops my children complaining of boredom quicker than a suggestion of household duties they could perform. If yours are like mine, they are also under the false (I hope) assumption that none of their friends are ever asked to wash dishes, vacuum, mow the lawn or take care of other basic household tasks. Getting kids to do chores can sometimes be quite difficult. Let’s be honest, sometimes getting adults to do chores can be a challenge as well. New to getting your children do chores? Check out this article from the Center for Effective Parenting for easy ways to transition your children into gaining valuable life skills.

According to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, typical chores for children during colonial times were:  working in the garden, babysitting, gathering eggs, milking cows, doing laundry, fetching water and firewood, cooking, sewing and emptying the chamber pots. Really, chores didn’t change that much for children until we became more urbanized. Even so, many of these chores still exist today—just modified for the changing times. Emptying the chamber pot is now “cleaning the bathroom", but how many of us require our children to do these things?

For some, it is easier to do the work yourself than to convince a stubborn child to participate in household duties. These kids are missing out, not only by learning necessary household skills but on the opportunity to feel responsible, competent and needed. 

So how do you get your kids to actually do them? It seems as though the answer varies as much as it does with the answer to potty-training. It depends on the personality of your child and the circumstances of your family. A sticker on a chore chart is all that some children need. Some like to make lists and check off tasks as they are completed. Some children need the chore made into a game. Others prefer an allowance, a special privilege or reward. Still others are motivated by consequences rather than rewards. Some children need extreme creativity. It all depends on your child and his or her motivation.

Some creative (and sneaky) tips for removing the boredom and making chores more fun are:

• Chore Wars. If you have a good reader who likes video games, this may be the solution for you. Reminiscent of the old RPG text-based games, this game allows you to create a character and gain XP points for doing household chores. Mom, you get to be the Dungeon Master (as well as play! You earn XP for grocery shopping and paying bills!) and choose from pre-created chores (or make your own) and choose the amount of XP that is awarded.  The more competition in this game, the better.  I suggest joining forces with other moms so that your children can try to one-up their friends and benefit you in the process.

• Scholastic has some great creative tips for making cleaning fun. One idea they offer is to hide stickers or small rewards in an area that you ask your child to dust. She only finds the rewards by doing a good job and lifting/moving knick-knacks.  I may try this idea with a $20 in my teenage son’s bedroom. This great article also offers ideas for playing “Go Fish” with missing socks as well as many other fun ideas.

• Growing Creative Kids also offers helpful ideas such as a “tidy up treasure hunt”, making cleaning items more kid-friendly (i.e. googly eyes, silly faces) and a “dust ‘n dance party”.

What are your ideas and tips for getting your children to do their chores? Tell us in the comments!