Chore Chart - Louisville,KY

Charts did not work for my family. Just said this is what is expected of you. I made a list and posted it on a mirror in the bathroom of the daily tasks. If I thought they needed to do something, I asked them to go look on their list and see if everything is in order. They did not get allowance until later. They get $6 a week if they work hard on what is expected of them with a shiny smile and good attitude.
Playroom is clean before bed was one of them and they learned to just pick up what they got out as they were done because it ended up taking them so long to do the whole room at the end of the night........so it was learned quickly.
Would be fun to blast music for a clean up song. As soon as it gets played, they get right to it with fun, laughter, and dance.

My 11, 6, and 4 year old do chores everyday except for Sunday. Of course the little ones still brush their teeth and hair even though that is considered one of their chores. The only thing they earn for doing chores is video game time or movie time. They decide what they want for their reward, but if all of the chores are not done then they do not get to play games or watch a movie.
This link may help you in figuring out what they are capable of. I used it as a guideline, but I did add some to my 4 year old because she was already doing it anyway.

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/parenting_chall...

When it comes to my girls I tried to make it fair for each of them. For example, they all three unload the dishwasher my youngest puts the plastic bowls & cups away, my middle daughter puts the silverware (minus knives) away, and my oldest puts the rest away. They also split up the table duties like this, my youngest helps set & clear the table, My middle daughter wipes down the table, and my oldest sweeps the kitchen floor.
So far this has worked for us and I just made a chore chart using Microsoft Excel. I print a new one off weekly and add stickers to it when they have completed the work. I like the Excel idea because I could gray out the days if a certain chore does not have to be completed everyday.

for rewards we did allowance, the kids loved and still love putting money in their banks and have had a sence of how much things cost from a young age. They were realy excited about being able to go buy what they wanted when they wanted. And it was given on a weekly basis. Could also do mystery boxes. Get things they like and let them stick their hands in or pull strings, but again on a weekly basis.hope you get some better ideas.......

My kids are 8, 6, and 3. We do a combination of chart and random cleaning. There are certain jobs that my kids are allowed to choose to do at any time such as changing the laundry from one machine to the other, unloading the dishwasher, washing dishes by hand, taking out the trash. If they do 2, they may choose a reward immediately after. Sometimes I just tell them everyone must stop what they are doing and help me do jobs. The same rewards apply. On Saturdays I will make a list of everything that needs to be done and they choose a certain number from the list. When all is done there is a reward. Our typical rewards are 20 minutes of a computer game or TV, a candy, a big marshmallow, popsicle, fruit snacks, playing with friends, playing outside. Nothing huge, but things that motivate them. Weekend rewards are sometimes an outing of some kind-- playground, ice cream, movie, ToysrUs to spend money Grandma gave them. We also have a chart of things they must do to get themselves ready in the morning.

Hi E.,
I don't have input for the 8 year old, but my son is 5 and I made a job chart for him (it is stuff that needs to get completed before we leave in the morning for preschool). It is laminated so he can mark it off with a dry erase marker as he completes them. His job chart includes: eating breakfast, putting dishes by the sink, putting his drink in the fridge, washing hands and face, brushing teeth, getting dressed, making his bed, putting his pjs away, turning off the lights, collecting his and his little sister's dirty clothes (then sorting and putting in appropriate laundry basket), and collecting toys that need to be put away (usually do this one in the evening). He does not get any kind of reward for doing his jobs - it is part of being part of our family and doing his part. It was hard to get him to do the jobs before I made the chart, but for whatever reason, he likes the chart. I just tell him to do his jobs and he does it (for the most part).

We also have a behavior chart where he earns points for good behavior, usually for doing something nice for his sister (we have been trying to encourage him to be nicer to her because he can sometimes be pretty mean to her - this chart has really made him think about his behavior. It has been great.) When he gets to a certain number of points, he gets a reward. The reward and number of points needed are decided before we start. He picks the reward - it is usually a toy. You could use this for chores though.

If you are interested, send me a PM with your email address and I will email you the charts.

Cyndi

About 8 years ago I devised a chore chart tied in with the calendar. My then 3 year old and 6 year old would work together, the 8 year old had her own rooms, the 15 yo did too.

Now I have 3 at home and it goes like this.

Every day is marked with a C (cat), D (dog), or K (kitchen) in 3 different color markers.

Each child gets his/her own color

On Blue C day my son scoops the cat litter and feeds the cats
next day is blue D, he then lets dogs out and feeds them, next day is blue K , he does the dishes and sets the table.
While there is a blue C on one day there is a purple D, so my oldest does dogs, then on that same day a pink K, so the younger daughter does kitchen.

On Saturdays Cat duties include the upstairs hall, vacuum and pick up, the downstairs bathroom, sink, toilet, floor, the laundry room-cat domain clean cat litter and wash bowls, sweep floor

Dog person gets the dining room, the foyer, stairs and piano room. All are vacuumed and dusted and picked up. THey pick up dog poops And anything else that needs done, sometimes windows, We have three big dogs

Kitchen person gets the kitchen, computer area, back foyer and tv room, same as the other rooms, vacuum, dust and pick up

If I need a room cleaned I can look at the calendar and say _____, You are on cat, go vacuum the hall. Or whatever needs to be done.

It sounds complicated but I started with a toddler in the house and a 5 and 8 year old. It really has made our lives easier.
I mark the calendar through December before I hang it up in January.

I have a control journal for everything that has to be done in the house. I used flylady.net and copied her idea. My kids used to use it to do laundry and setting the table now they don't need it. Sometimes I told them all to hide in their rooms and I would hide coins under things that needed to be dusted. So when they did it they got an instant reward.
I do not pay for chores though. THey do not get allowances. Chores are done because we are a family. Everyone pitches in.
So if one person misses a day or week we adjust and others do his or her job, like when one is away at Scout camp. They do not have to "pay" back any missed chores unless they start skating out, then I give the others' chores to the culprit. YOu'll onlly do that once to one of them.

My kids have been doing everything since they could help me.
Bathrooms: wash sink, sweep and swiffer floor, wipe mirror
Cat litter and pick up dog poops, they will still dometimes do this with a partner. It's easier to pick up poops if someone is holding the bag
Run vacuum and pick up any rooms
Dust

I had to help the little ones a lot at first. I made games out of picking things up and dusting. I hid coins and sometimes candy. I promised fun things after it was all done, like milkshakes or a fire in the fire pit.

My boys have what we call a "reward chart". They each have a list of things to do (feed dog, feed cat, feed lizard, put dirty clothes in laundry basket, p/u toys, brush teeth, set the table, clear the table, get dressed w/o a hassle etc.). They get to pick out their reward they are working toward (sometimes a toy, sometimes a movie...). They get a mark for each thing they either do on their own or if they are asked one time. If we have to ask more than once they don't get their mark. We decide in the beginning how many marks they need to earn to get their reward. If the reward is $20 then they have to earn 40 marks. It works really well for us.

I just tell my kids to do chores.
No reward or allowance for it.
Because, helping in the house is a part of doing things for the family...and they are a PART of the family. They live in the house, thus they need to HELP with upkeeping it. Mommy is not a Maid.

My kids are 5 and 9.
They do chores.
They pick up after themselves and dust and put their laundry away, and clean the tables after eating etc. And whatever else I think of, that I want them to help with. And my daughter even helps me wash the windows and screens. She is 9. And they both help with mopping and dust brooming.

And, don't expect an ENTIRE room to be cleaned. That can be overwhelming for a child. "Assign" them "areas." In a room.

BUT... the thing is, with kids you cannot expect them to do it JUST like you. Nor perfectly. Give them credit, for trying "their best." Otherwise, they will get discouraged. I give my kids, verbal props, for doing "their best" and helping in the house.