Free Kid Chore Chart

Free Kid Chore Chart
(Click on the above to download your Free Kid Chore Chart in .pdf format – Requires Adobe Acrobat to read)

Convincing a child (and sometimes a husband – just kidding) to clean their room usually involves a constant balance between yelling and begging. Kids are the world’s greatest procrastinators and often need that little, loving push to see the merits of a clean room, or trash taken to the curb, or dishes washed or any other kid chore. But many things we do as parents can make the difference between a 20-minute exercise in cleanliness and an entire day of punishment and regret. That’s not to say that you can create a system where your child will always do just as their told and complete their chores. At the same time children try to test the boundaries of their independence and they accomplish this through trying to determine how far they can push you to the breaking point. Unfortunately, this requires them crossing that line at some point. How else can they know what they can get away with until they understand where it is that you put your foot down?

There are several ways that you can make it easier and increase the chances for when you say “It’s time to clean your room” that your child will say “sure”. This is not a comprehensive list but instead some ideas that you might not have considered and hopefully will help. Also, I have attached a Free Kid Chore Chart for your use. Print it off and try it; hopefully it will help.

Time of Day – If you announce to your child during the middle of their favorite television show that it is time to work on their chore chart list, you are sure to be met with the whining and complaining of a disgruntled child. Structure the day, so their chores on their chore chart list need to get done before that show. It’s usually best to have children work on their chore chart list early in the morning since they are the most rested and, quite frankly, they haven’t had the opportunity to get involved in something that is more fun. If you wait until after dinner between bath time and bedtime then there will be a total lack of motivation. A child will rationalize in their head that the sooner they get their room clean the sooner they have to go to bed - and that’s no fun. So start early in the day on the chores.

Short term Goals – Young kids have trouble understanding time. Think back to when you were a child and how waiting for Christmas seemed like a lifetime. Today, December flashes by in the blink of an eye. That’s why having a long list of kid chores that your child has to accomplish before going out to play seems like an insurmountable task that will never be accomplished. So, they give up. A better solution might be to break up the kid chores into specific tasks that they need to accomplish every day that is much shorter in duration. Some folks hang such a kid chore chart on the refrigerator and check off each task as it is completed. This is a great way to set expectations each day with your child so that they know what is constantly expected. A chore chart list also allows a child to visually track progress.

Structure – As insinuated above, it is important for kids to have structure. Actually, they thrive on it when they know what is expected and things are routine. For example, they know that after dinner, they brush their teeth, then take a bath, then read a book, then go to bed. It’s a routine that they know that once the process starts, the end point (bedtime) is sure to occur. Setting aside 20 minutes out of each day at the same time, say after breakfast, to work on their kid chore chart can help with getting them in the routine. Soon working on the kid chore chart will become second nature.

Storage solutions – One reason that kids might procrastinate on putting their toys away is that it isn’t easy to do so. Having proper storage solutions in their room can assist with this problem and teaching your child that everything has its place can help. They need to be able to reach the shelves where books are supposed to go or you can expect a list a mile long on why they don’t want to help. Remember, simplicity is key and everything should have its place. A good way to help with this is to get your kids involved in choosing the storage solutions for their room. Toy boxes, large Tupperware containers that can fit under the bed and child size bookshelves are all great examples of storage solutions that can assist.

Hopefully you will find our free kid chore chart helpful. But no matter what method or methods you deploy to get your kids to see the benefits of completing their chores can be, well in a word, a chore. But kids want to help and please their parents so with a little positive reinforcement they can be persuaded. Lastly, always find something that merits a compliment. Use their daily kid chore chart to help build self-esteem, which is one of the greatest gifts we as parents can provide our children.

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Posted: 10/23/06

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