Conquer the Bore with a Chore!
By Guest Blogger Maria Glazener
We’re once again thrilled to feature another article from Forsyth Family magazine. Today’s post focuses on making chores fun – and with the chance for summer boredom creeping in – Maria offers several ideas to help manage chores while making them enjoyable. First, make sure you assign the right chore for the age of your child (it will be less work for you in the long run). Visit this past article written by Maria for suggestions on age-appropriate chores. Now let’s get to work! ~ Katie
Assigning chores and making sure they get done is a chore all in itself! But follow a few of these tricks and your children and those chores might just take care of themselves!
• First of all, you need to create a space for tracking your child’s progress. This can be as fancy as a whole wall, or a simple space on the refrigerator.
• Find the fit for you. All it takes is a few minutes on Pinterest to see there are thousands of options for creating charts, both paper versions and crafty options, too. Don’t get overwhelmed, start small with a paper version and then move up from there if you want. The important part of this process is to track the chores, not make more work for you.
• Make it attractive. A little color and personalization can go a long way. Sometimes all it takes is a little glitz to get your kids going! Seeing their names on a cookie sheet along with pictures of chores is a great reminder to get busy. Moving a card or a clip to the “done side” provides a sense of accomplishment!
• Get an app! There are several apps out there that can make tracking chores a breeze.
• “Chore Monster” lets you create chores and then attach points, a reward, or money to the chore. Kids can log on and check off the chores they have completed. You get a text message sent to your phone to know the task is complete!
• “You Rule Chores” is a great app where parents can assign, judge and rate chores, and kids can compete against siblings to unlock powers and gain rewards in a video-game-based chore app.
• “I-reward and I-allowance Chore” apps are also great phone and tablet apps to assign, track and reward chores for your kids.
• “Lickety Split” is a great app for toddlers and preschoolers. This app has an animated hourglass and classical music that gets faster as time winds down. A super fun way to get them moving and helping out!
• Get your kids involved. Put on some music; have a scavenger hunt through the house, picking up stray items. Play go fish with the laundry. Anything you can do to make it fun will certainly make the time and the chore go by faster!
• Be consistent. Make sure chores are done daily or weekly, depending on your schedule, and have a consequence if they are not. For example, no TV or outside play until the chore is done. But, also allow for a little flexibility. Change chores on a weekly basis, so each child will have the chance to do something different. Ask your child to help you divide the jobs out to family members, and offer a day off every once in a while! Who doesn’t love a day off?
• Regroup and keep going. Expect setbacks and roll with the ups and downs. We all need to be reminded now and then, and so do children. Slowly but surely, your children will learn that contributing to the family and taking responsibility can be fun! It also helps them learn lifelong skills they will need when they head off on their own!
This article has been reposted with permission from Forsyth Family magazine.
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