Hail To The Chore Chart

Because I have always been a strong believer that all who live in the house have a responsibility for the upkeep of the house, Saturday was Chore Day at our house, for me as well as for my three daughters. The rule was that chores had to be done before anybody played. The tricky part for me was in how to get my daughters to do their chores without a lot of grumbling. Realizing from my classroom experience that children love choices, I implemented the Saturday Morning Chore Chart. I don't know where this brilliant idea came from but it was my salvation for those Saturday chores. Since this method is driven by a little competition between siblings, it is best utilized if you have more than one child.

This is the plan:
1. On Friday night, you (the parent) decide what chores need to be done. Make a list of chores and post the list on the refrigerator.
2. Decide how many chores each child should do. Write this number at the very top of the page. All children should have an equal number of chores but you can balance them out if some chores take a lot longer than others. For example, doing laundry can count as two or three chores, depending upon the quantity to be done. And yes, the children can do the laundry. At our house, you did laundry once you had your eleventh birthday.
3. When each child wakes up on Saturday morning, he or she signs up for the chores for the day. That means that if you are an early riser, you get the best chores, you get them done, and you get to play for the remainder of the day. If you like to sleep in, you must do the chores that no one else wants to do. If you procrastinate, your playtime is postponed and you must still do the chores that no one else wants to do.

I found that this method eliminated one of the biggest hassles of chore assignment.... "How come she gets to do THAT chore and I don't?" Now, don't get me wrong. There was some complaining at first, especially when my youngest daughter was up before everyone else, had her chores done (the "best" chores), and was out the door ready to play. On a few occasions, I had to remind everyone that they all had a choice in their time of arising and they all had a choice of chores. If they wanted the best chores, they had to get up early.

This did not change sleeping patterns but that was not the intent.

My daughter, Sleeping Beauty #1, chose to sleep until around eleven and took her chances on the chores.

My daughter, Sleeping Beauty #2, chose to sleep until three in the afternoon regardless of the chores left on the chart when she got up. And so, she always had the chores that nobody else wanted to do. But sleep was the most important thing to her, not chore choice.

If this is going to work for you, you should begin this system when your children are young so that it becomes a part of the family routine. And emphasize that there is choice in this system. Say It and Mean It. It will work for you and for your family.