Assigning and Charting Chores
Which Chores for Whom?
What types of participation should your child be asked for? It's really a matter of “know your child.“ A lot of books list tasks for kids and the ages the jobs become appropriate. I don't like to do that because kids vary so widely, in their development, skills, and interests.
This list of household tasks is here to get you thinking. Choose tasks that you (and your child) think are appropriate, both in terms of development and temperament. Remember, this is only a starting place:
|Emptying wastepaper baskets||Vacuuming family areas|
|Washing and folding laundry||Organizing the bookshelves|
|Setting the table||Organizing the videos and CDs|
|Clearing the table||Cleaning the attic|
|Doing the dishes||Cleaning the garage or storage shed|
|Loading and unloading the dishwasher or drain||Clipping coupons|
|Straightening family areas||Polishing doorknobs, railings, or silver|
|Dusting family areas||Mopping floors|
|Cleaning toilets or sinks or showers||Organizing the recycling|
|Caring for the pets (walking, grooming, feeding, cleaning cages)||Taking out garbage|
|Exterior of house (windows, mowing, raking, gardening)||Making a shopping list|
|Washing the car||Shopping|
|Washing dishes||Cooking meals|
Charting the Chores
Parents rely on a variety of motivators and reminders to get their kids to do their chores. Some schedule the responsibilities on chore charts. Some paste gold stars on the calendar every time the child completes them. Some use a chip system-add a coin (or chip) to a jar every time a chore is done. When the jar is full, the child can trade the chips in for special treats. Use whatever works in your family.
No matter what method you choose, one thing is clear: Organization is key, and the bigger the family, the better the organization needs to be. If you are trying to set up a chore chart, you can use the example here as a model (notice that all the kids, even the little ones, are included):
|Rotating Chore Chart||For the week of ______|
|Maria||Take out all trash||Tuesday evening before bed|
|Maria||Set the table||5:25 P.M. every night|
|Maria||Empty dishwasher||Tuesday and Thursday after school|
|Tony||Clean parakeet cage||Tuesday evening before bed|
|Tony||Clear table and load dishwasher||After dinner every night|
|Tony||Empty dishwasher||Monday and Wednesday after school|
|Little Liz||Help Mommy with the grocery shopping||Wednesday afternoon|
|Little Liz||Hold the parking lot ticket||Every morning|
You can trade in one of your jobs this week in exchange for:
- Ironing the pile of clean shirts in the laundry room, or
- Spot cleaning the carpet (ask Dad for the spot remover), or
- Cooking Sunday brunch and cleaning up! (Reminder: Grandma and the cousins are coming. This is a big job. Dad will be your assistant.)
More on: Values and Responsibilities
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to a Well-Behaved Child © 1999 by Ericka Lutz. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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