Create a Chore System for Your Kids that Works

Create a chore system for your kids that will not only help you around the house, but help teach your children responsibility.

Have you found yourself constantly nagging and reminding your kids to do their chores? Do they argue with you and give you a lot of pushback when you ask them to complete their responsibilities? If this all sounds very familiar to you, then you need to create a chore system for your kids!

Age Appropriate Chores for Kids

The first step in creating a chore system for your kids is knowing what chores are age-appropriate. Kids can do a lot more than we often give them credit for. You can check out my age-appropriate chore list if you need help deciding which chores to assign your kids.

Seeing what your kids should be capable of will get your new chore system off to the right start.

Why I Developed a Chore System

I am a stay at home mom to 3 kids and I can tell you that cleaning the house was incredibly overwhelming to me until I came up with our chore system.

I’ll be 100% honest and tell you that at times (ok-most of the time) my kids acted like they were raised in a barn. If they ate a snack, the wrapper was carelessly tossed on the floor, and food and cups were left everywhere. Clothes are all over the place because apparently, it’s just too hard to drop them in the hamper.

Related: Teach Kids How to Keep Their Room Clean

Kids Organization & Chore Printables

Chores for 4-Year-Olds (They’ll Actually Do)

I just couldn’t figure out where I had gone wrong. I was raised in a clean home and I am a very clean person. They were not learning this from following my example. If they followed my example, my house would be clean😀

I felt like a broken record, constantly telling them that their mess was unacceptable and asking for them to clean it up.

Eventually, I became overwhelmed by the constant mess. I spent so much time cleaning up after them, that the bigger cleaning around the house started to suffer.

My feeling is this: one person alone can’t take care of the entire house plus be a good mom all while attempting to work from home. There’s just way too much for one person to manage without any help.

Once I had finally had enough, I sat down and did some research and developed a chore system for my kids. I was determined for this to work!

Why You Need a Chore Chart

The answer is very simple: having a kid’s chore chart just makes things easier! Having the chart makes your expectations clear plus your kids can easily keep track of what they’ve completed.

Where to Start

First things first – you need to sit down and make a list of what you expect each child to do on a daily basis.

Don’t forget to check out my age-appropriate chore list if you are feeling stumped.

Next, sit your kids down and clearly explain your expectations. Outline what chores they will be responsible for and what the outcome will be if they are not completed.

You may need to show your kids how to properly do some chores. I had to show my son how to properly clean a bathroom because he had no clue what to do.

Allowance vs. No Allowance

Choosing whether or not to give an allowance is a personal decision. I don’t really think there is a right or wrong choice.

Personally, I give a small allowance because money is a great motivator for my kids, plus it is helping them learn about saving.

You can read about how I taught my kids about the value of money HERE.

On top of giving an allowance, we also have a system in place for refusing or forgetting to do a chore. They lose $0.50 per incomplete chore, so if they skip enough chores it’s possible that they could end up owing me money at the end of the week.

Once they realized they may have to start paying me, incompleted chores became a thing of the past. Like I said before: money is a great motivator.

Getting Started with Your Chore Chart

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Now that you have a plan of action, you can get started. First, you’ll need a chore chart. I created these two new designs for my kids. You can download them and print out however many you need. (When you print, the name section will be blank.)

DOWNLOAD HERE

DOWNLOAD HERE

To make things simpler, I laminate my chore charts and then hang them on the fridge. This way, I don’t have to print out a new sheet each week and waste all that precious colored ink:)

I use magnetic dry erase markers I can hang on the fridge so the kids can easily cross things off their list.

This chore chart system really works well for my kids and it will work for your kids too! The most important thing to remember is that consistency is key.

If you stop following up with them about their chores, most kids (mine for sure) will just stop doing them. When you keep them accountable you will have great results!

Remember, kids can do so much more than we often give them credit for. So, stop doing things for them! Show them how to do it and then let them do it themselves.

Related: Teach Kids How to Keep Their Room Clean

Kids Organization & Chore Printables

Chores for 4-Year-Olds (They’ll Actually Do)

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