I need the *perfect* chore system

[Moxie]

I have 4 chore age kids. I need something visual (so I remind them to check it). I need some way to include fines for ignoring Mom:glare:. I would like it to be simple. I need to include daily and weekly chores. Does this exist?? I've looked at the one that has a peg thing for each child (can't remember the name) but it is out of my budget. Looks awesome though!

[Mrs Mungo]

How about something like this: http://pinterest.com/pin/265008759292874500/ ?

[2squared]

I need some way to include fines for ignoring Mom:glare:. I would like it to be simple.

 

My simplest and most effective idea for this piece is to put chore time before eating time. No chores = no food. My kids have chores before breakfast, lunch, and afternoon screen time. None of the chores are too involved, mostly just picking up and self-care, but they get done. :001_smile:

[Lily_Grace]

Here's a picture of our homemade chore chart that we used for quite a while. It's simple and cheap.

 

Take 1 file folder for each kid. Cut in half, then fold almost halfway to make 8 pockets: one for each day of the week and one for "Done"

 

 

Fill with chore cards, one for each chore, each day. In our house, I had 6 'make bed' cards and 1 'strip bed'.

 

 

Each day you collect from the "Done" pocket and look them over. Chores that are not done go back in the day's pocket, to be redone, or fined, or whatever you choose. The other ones get collected and deposited in a jar to be redistributed on Saturday afternoon.

 

Oh, and I wasn't playing with the "but I DID it!!!" whining, either. I made up cards that detailed exactly what needed to be done and to what specs. They sat in a box under the chore chart.

[MommyK]

I have 4 chore age kids. I need something visual (so I remind them to check it). I need some way to include fines for ignoring Mom:glare:. I would like it to be simple. I need to include daily and weekly chores. Does this exist?? I've looked at the one that has a peg thing for each child (can't remember the name) but it is out of my budget. Looks awesome though!

 

 

Accountable Kids.

 

It hangs on our wall.. Unused.:glare:

 

I became a slave to the ticket system and couldn't take it anymore.

 

MOM I DID THIS CAN I HAVE A TICKET NOW CAN I USE MY TICKET CAN I HAVE AN EXTRA CHORE FOR MORE TICKETS?!!

 

Spork. My. Eye. Out.

[jaspershiloh]

staying consistant seems to be my troubles... not so much the chores, but just keeping up with the system set up to DO the chores...Ahh!

[mrs.m]

I give Pokemon cards to my boys when they finish chores. I take them away when they don't. That's their currency right now. X-box time works too but that is harder to manage.

 

I take away DD's phone if it's out right defiance or sloppy work. This rarely happens.

 

Pictures of chore charts below. The are laminated and checked off with a marker as we go along. I want fast and done, not perfect, since we do this every week.

[*********]

Accountable Kids.

 

It hangs on our wall.. Unused.:glare:

 

I became a slave to the ticket system and couldn't take it anymore.

 

MOM I DID THIS CAN I HAVE A TICKET NOW CAN I USE MY TICKET CAN I HAVE AN EXTRA CHORE FOR MORE TICKETS?!!

 

Spork. My. Eye. Out.

 

LOLOLOL

 

The bolded is how I feel whenever someone mentions a chore chart/system on here. I guess in larger families, it may be necessary. But I couldn't do it. Nuh uh.

[Sasharowan]

Mine are a bit older, but we just assign areas. 1 kid gets the living room and does pick up, vacuuming, dusting, whatever. another gets kitchen, does sweep and mop after supper, puts dishes away, helps cook, oldest has started helping with dishes and cooking. Dining room, sets table, clears table, sweeps and mops, helps with laundry. Bathrooms; wipe down counters, sinks, toilets, change out towels, sweep and mop. Older 3 are responsible for their own laundry and have assigned days. They are also responsible for their own rooms. Chores rooms are swapped monthly now, but in the beginning they swapped weekly while they were learning.

[rieshy]

I had the big peg board system. It caused more work than me just doing everyone's chores! I thought I would explode- it made me extremely cranky. I know some people have great results with it... I finally sold it for $10:tongue_smilie: So maybe you can find a used one for cheap.

 

We have chore times tied to meals as someone else mentioned. Not in a strict crack the whip style, it's just the rhythm of our house. We eat meals together so it's easy to organize people with the idea that before breakfast you get dressed, pick up your room, pick up the bathroom on your way to the kitchen. Lunch time is similar- new load of laundry neaten up school work clean up rooms or any morning chores. Before dinner house gets cleaned, vacuumed, more laundry. After dinner kitchen gets cleaned. Everyone works, everyone helps. We never seem to have to work more than 30 minutes at a time. But then I have a large family so I have lots of workers. I rotate jobs as needed.

 

Another chore trick I do is that we don't leave the house for activities without picking up on our way out. My kids know that working fast gets us gone and dilly dallying on chores means they will be late.

[ChemMommy]

...get a maid!!!

[Chelli]

Here is a blog post I wrote about our chore system:

 

Chores Part 2

 

 

I wouldn't say it's perfect, but it's definitely easier than anything else we've tried.

[sparrow]

I bought Motivated Moms 2011 at the end of last year. It was only $2 or something. I just print it weekly and scribble out the dates. I post it on the fridge and the kids each have a specific colored marker to check-off what they've done. I've told them that they don't have to do all of the items in the order they're listed, but I want everything on the list done during a week. I use the list and check it off, too. If everything is checked off, they get their allowance on Monday.

 

This has been the best method for us.

[besroma]

This is a link to my favorites:

 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/59465855/meal-time-chore-chart-magnet-set?ref=cat_gallery_20

[Camche3]

I think everyone here has some great ideas! I have made plenty of chore charts and list over the last eighteen years (my oldest's age) and finally realized that they weren't looking at the charts. They were aware of what chores they had but either forgot to do them or chose not to do them. I had the problem of making them stick to it. I finally figured out what worked for us. I bought a small dry erase board and put it on the refrigerator. Everytime I find a mess one of them has made or a chore not done, that child's name goes on the board. I then take all of that child's electronics (their favorite items). In order to earn back their items they lost, they have to fix what they didn't do plus do an extra chore of my choice for each name. They HATE losing their ipods so they come straight to me and say "What chore do you want me to do." I usually have stuff I need done already written on the bottom of the board as I come across things throught the day. I also use this system for any misbehavior. Any arguing gets extra names on the board. Their friends beg me not to tell their moms about it. This system has yet to fail me in the last year and a half I have used it. I either get well behaved children or a clean house.:D

[alisoncooks]

Accountable Kids.

 

It hangs on our wall.. Unused.:glare:

 

I became a slave to the ticket system and couldn't take it anymore.

 

MOM I DID THIS CAN I HAVE A TICKET NOW CAN I USE MY TICKET CAN I HAVE AN EXTRA CHORE FOR MORE TICKETS?!!

 

Spork. My. Eye. Out.

 

Same here. Loved the idea, but ... great ... another thing I can get behind and fail on.

[Aspasia]

I think everyone here has some great ideas! I have made plenty of chore charts and list over the last eighteen years (my oldest's age) and finally realized that they weren't looking at the charts. They were aware of what chores they had but either forgot to do them or chose not to do them. I had the problem of making them stick to it. I finally figured out what worked for us. I bought a small dry erase board and put it on the refrigerator. Everytime I find a mess one of them has made or a chore not done, that child's name goes on the board. I then take all of that child's electronics (their favorite items). In order to earn back their items they lost, they have to fix what they didn't do plus do an extra chore of my choice for each name. They HATE losing their ipods so they come straight to me and say "What chore do you want me to do." I usually have stuff I need done already written on the bottom of the board as I come across things throught the day. I also use this system for any misbehavior. Any arguing gets extra names on the board. Their friends beg me not to tell their moms about it. This system has yet to fail me in the last year and a half I have used it. I either get well behaved children or a clean house.:D

 

Oh, I'm liking this! My trouble is that my kids aren't old enough to have any truly invaluable objects. If I take away a toy, they can easily forget about it and find something else.

 

A couple months ago I came up with what I thought was a completely brilliant behavior/chore system. It was basically just a token economy and dd could use her coins to buy stuff from a little "store" I set up. I was trying to be positive about chores by rewarding her for compliance rather than punishing noncompliance. Yeah, it was a big, fat failure. If she didn't want to do something, she just said said she didn't want a coin. And she really didn't. It just communicated to her that chores were optional, when they're not. The problem with incentives is that a kid can just choose to not do the chore if they decide they don't care about the incentive that day, and then you're powerless.

 

So I recently switched to this simple little chart. What dd values the most is freedom--to play outside, to play with her friends, etc. so she just doesn't get to do those things until her chores are done. The chart includes morning chores and afternoon chores. Then it has a place for chores that can earn money/treats. She has the option of doing those only if the required chores are done. Simple for her to understand, simple for me to implement.

 

But I'm holding on to Camche's idea for when my kids get older!