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Studies show that nearly two-thirds of the children in the U.S. won’t help with housework unless their parents specifically ask them to, and that half of the parents spend more time arguing with their kids about chores than the kids spend doing the chores. If you’re tired of nagging your children to clean their room or put away the dishes, try these tips to get your kids onboard with chores.
Digital Age
Who would have thought that a digital device could actually lure kids away from in front of a video game and help with chores? That’s exactly what a new breed of apps is designed to do. For just a few dollars, parents can download such apps as ChoreMonsters or You Rule Chores to their mobile phone or tablet. These digital games employ incentives and friendly competition to entice kids to do chores.
Set the Timer
Put a bit of deadline pressure on the kids by setting a time limit for completing their chores. For instance, you might give them 30 minutes to clean their room. For each minute that the job is not done after the timer goes off, they might lose a corresponding minute of TV time or have to go to bed that many minutes earlier. You also can spin this motivator the other way: If your kids complete a chore in a given amount of time, they get to stay up that much later.
Connect your Child’s Allowance to Chores
If your child receives an allowance, you can create an incentive by attaching part or all of it to chore completion. For example, your child might lose $.50 for each time you have to remind him or her to do a specific chore.
Make Chore Times Predictable
To take any sudden surprises out of chore time, designate a specific day or time each week when the whole family does chores together. Whether it’s a Saturday morning or weekday evening, be consistent and transparent about the day or time you choose and about the process, so your kids know what to expect.
We hope these tips can help you and your family to knock out chores in record time so that you can move on to more rewarding activities, perhaps relaxing together afterward.
Source:
WebMD
The Grow-Up® Plan
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About the Gerber Baby
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