Simply Maid to Help

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Getting your kids to help out around the house starts with clear communication. If you are uncertain about what they are supposed to do or how they are supposed to do it, you better believe they will be too. Here are some no nonsense, tried and true methods for the madness.

Don’t Waste Your Time with Bribery.

Paying your kids to do their chores will only get you so far. Over time, once the newness of having an allowance fades, their motivation will fade, while their expectation for more money will only grow, creating conflict and endless frustration.

Keep it Simple.

Focus on one chore at a time. If you want your kids to improve their efforts, don’t give them a long daily/weekly/monthly list of tasks. A lengthy list of household chores will overwhelm and upset both you and your children if they’re not done correctly, or on time. Instead, focus on giving them one chore at a time – like cleaning their room, putting away the laundry, or loading/unloading the dishwasher.

Consider Their Age

There are plenty of chores to choose from, but you should also consider the age of your child when you’re giving them a task. A great way to get older kiddos started with helping around the house is asking them to water the plants, put clean sheets on the bed, vacuum or sweep the floors. For younger kids, an age appropriate chore may be picking up toys around the house. Being consistent with simple household tasks will build the foundation you need to enable you to add more down the road! Remember to be patient, but also firm. Children naturally like to explore boundaries, and making sure yours stay consistent will actually give them a sense of security, even if they don’t understand that yet.

Give Them Purpose

All the consistency in the world will not keep your kids on track if it’s done without reward. The kind of reward I’m talking about is much more effective than any form of “bribery” (using money or gifts to reward a behavior). Most of us don’t really enjoy doing chores (not even us adults, right?) but successfully completing a task and having our work appreciated by others gives us the motivation and satisfaction we need to keep going. Give your child a daily/weekly/monthly chore that you think is appropriate, but always remember to encourage them and show your appreciation. A high-five and a smile can go a long way in a young one’s heart. This will not only help get things done around the house, but it’s a great opportunity to instill work ethic and a healthy sense of accomplishment in your children, even from a young age. Never assume your kids understand the value of chores on their own. It’s important to teach them that helping is a way of life and chores will teach them valuable life skills they’re going to use forever.

Establish Clear Consequences

While you should always give your child some time to adjust to whatever chore you asked them to do, you should also be upfront about the consequences – right from the beginning. This prevents unnecessary confusion.

Always use the same, calm but confident approach each time you assign chores for your household or follow up with them about their task. Let them know you’re not here to argue or beat around the bush by making it clear you are never going to nag or plead with them over and over again.

Of course, consequences must always be age appropriate. For example, if you have a teenager, you can take their phone away for a couple of days. (CRAZY, I know. But they will absolutely think twice before they refuse a chore again). For younger children, you can take away their valuable TV time or play time.

Motivating kids can be difficult, but do what you think is appropriate to teach your child to finish their chores on time.

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