We haven’t quite reached the chore stage of life yet.
We haven’t quite reached the chore stage of life yet. We sing clean-up and I wince every time my little man tidies up his toys in a way that makes the place feel even messier.
But we talk about it. We negotiate and discuss how we can go to the park or have a treat after we’ve cleaned up or finished our “jobs”. I suppose I’m trying to normalise the idea of helping out and chores for when he’s a little bit older and is actually helping me.
I came across a brilliant idea on Instagram and wanted to share it with you. It’s an idea that would work really well in a larger family where there might be a couple of children. It’s simple and it’s brilliant. It’s called “chore sticks”.
This mother had the genius and inexpensive idea of creating this chore stick jar as a way of making chores fun and even a little bit competitive.
The idea is that you get a large jar and fill it with lollipop sticks that have a chore written on them. On the front of the jar sits a label that says “pick a chore”.
I came across a brilliant idea on Instagram and wanted to share it with you. It’s an idea that would work really well in a larger family where there might be a couple of children. It’s simple and it’s brilliant. It’s called “chore sticks”.
This mother had the genius and inexpensive idea of creating this chore stick jar as a way of making chores fun and even a little bit competitive.
The idea is that you get a large jar and fill it with lollipop sticks that have a chore written on them. On the front of the jar sits a label that says “pick a chore”.
She’s basically made it in to a bit of a game whereby there is no rule or expectation of how many chores each person should do. In fact, technically they can avoid them completely. But when a chore is done it’s noted on a little chart with a tick or a dot.
At the end of the week the person who has the most ticks or dots gets a special treat to enjoy.
I think it’s genius. It’s teaching them to decide independently when and how many chores they want to do. It’s teaching them time management and that work often comes with a reward. Sometimes that reward is praise or a treat and other times it comes with satisfaction.
For this mum some of the chores listed included “dishes” “tidy toys” and “vacuum” but they can be as simple or advanced as you need them to be.
As I searched the hashtag on Instagram I realized that this is actually a really popular thing. Lots of parents are doing it this way and for the most part it seems to result in more chores being done without being asked and many parents claim that their children now take great pride in the “chore” they choose.
I think it’s genius. It’s teaching them to decide independently when and how many chores they want to do. It’s teaching them time management and that work often comes with a reward. Sometimes that reward is praise or a treat and other times it comes with satisfaction.
For this mum some of the chores listed included “dishes” “tidy toys” and “vacuum” but they can be as simple or advanced as you need them to be.
As I searched the hashtag on Instagram I realized that this is actually a really popular thing. Lots of parents are doing it this way and for the most part it seems to result in more chores being done without being asked and many parents claim that their children now take great pride in the “chore” they choose.
Chore sticks, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!
Written by Tracey Quinn, Staff Writer, with Family Friendly HQ.
