How to Implement Chores

Chores was a very dreaded word for me for so many reasons. I didn’t want to deal with the task of handing out demands. I didn’t want to track if they were being finished, and frankly, it got finished quickly (and correctly) when I did things myself.

But, I felt myself growing frustrated when I would come home from working and see all that I still needed to complete. There was to much on my plate and my kids were becoming little TV zombies. What was I teaching them? It hit me that we couldn’t keep going like this any longer.

So what did we do?

Well first things first, we cut TV time down! We no longer had screen time during school nights unless it was a family show we were all watching together. We had a family meeting where we discussed what is expected out of all of us. I made sure to highlight this wasn’t a punishment, but a way that we can all play a part in keeping up with our home. I didn’t offer an allowance. **Insert GASP here!** What I did was explain that when they become adults, no one will be following them to make sure they make their beds or throw out the trash so that they can give them five dollars. What I did offer was tv/game time for completing their chores throughout the week. I also added extras they can choose from as a way to earn some cash. I also printed out this for and bought some cool stickers,

https://www.freebiefindingmom.com/5-free-printable-chore-charts-for-kids/

We’ve been doing this for about a month now, my kiddos have had to learn. They got reminders at first, this was new to all of us. But now that we are on a flow they know, no chores means no tv or game time. It only took once for them to learn that momma meant business.

Take some things off your plate. Help yourself while shaping the adults they will become. They will learn that a family is a team, not just one person running the whole show. They will be healthier because of it, and momma will be happier.