I don’t know about you but as a kid I had to do chores all the time. Hang out the laundry, rake the rocks out of the dirt driveway, do the dishes, etc (we lived in the desert of NM so yes rake the driveway was a real thing!). I used to resent these chores as a kid and I remember thinking it was unfair that I had to do them since many of my friends did not. Now I look back and I’m thankful my parents put in the effort to stay on me about those chores. I think it built discipline, self esteem and good habits.
So are you having your kids in Stapleton do their chores? We haven’t been having our kids do it but we’re going to start today! I thought I’d share what we plan to do as well as some of the benefits of having your kids do chores in the hopes that it may help you with your family. Stapleton is a very blessed community and for the most part our kids don’t have the risk of going hungry or not having warm clothes…but we do have the risk of having spoiled kids who are only focused on their own entertainment. I think now, when they are young, is the time to watch out for these dangers and try to head them off early. Don’t think I’m preaching here as someone with all the answers… I’m on the parenting journey too and by no means the expert! Just sharing a risk I see for my kids.
Our Chores Plan:
Our girls are 5 and 3 so they are old enough to do quite a few tasks around the house. They actually love helping us clean when we ask them to so we think they’ll be into “chores” if we make it fun and have a reward system. So to make it fun I looked up some ideas on Pinterest (the perfect place to find ideas no matter the topic). After looking at quite a few options we picked this system for keeping track of their chores: Kids Chores Clipboard Idea.
We think the girls will love having their own clipboard and a visual way to show that they have done their chores.
Regarding the reward system I found a few different ideas. You can do the weekly allowance paycheck idea (allowance) which teaches them how they need to work for money and you could use it to teach them budgeting. Some may feel the kids should help because they are part of the family and not just to make money. I can see that point. Here is an example of a kids paycheck if you want to go this route. Alternatively, I found an idea where you write a bunch of small experience-based rewards on balls and put them in a glass jar. If the kids do the chores they get to pick a ball out and that experience is their reward. Rewards can be things like “extra 30 minutes outside with friends”, “popcorn and a movie” or “trip to Menchie’s with dad” (ok that one is a little self-serving). Here is a sample Rewards Jar.
Benefits of Chores for Kids:
Contrary to what you may think having the kids do chores isn’t gonna make your life as a parent easier. The effort to get the kids to do the chores and then possibly fixing the ones they did wrong will likely be more work than just doing it yourself. It’s worth it though, here are the benefits your kids will receive through your efforts as a parent:
- Develops character
- Builds good habits
- Increases discipline (work then play)
- Teaches them to delay gratification (gotta work all week to get a reward)
- Grows awareness of all that it takes for parents to run a household
So that’s our plan, we’ll see how it goes! There are a lot of different ways to motivate and reward kids, if you have something that’s working please share!
Joe Phillips | Synergy Real Estate Team | (720) 545-9003 | [email protected]
