Setting Up a Chores System for Your Kids
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As we look at different “systems” that need to be put in place in our homes, children and chores probably rate pretty close to the top for those that have children! Not only is the whole family needed to keep the home running smoothly, but chores are a great way to instill a good work ethic and life skills in your children.
So you know it is good for your family, it is good for your kids, but you just don’t know where to start. There are a ton of free resources online and many, many different ways you can set up a chores system. But I want to encourage you to try to make it as simple as possible. You don’t need an elaborate setup to get the job done. Are you ready? Let’s get a chore system set up for your kids!
Step #1: Print or Create a Chore Chart
Probably the easiest way for you to keep track of the chores that each child is assigned, is to print or create chore charts. I would recommend having a chore chart for each child, so you can make them age-appropriate (such as using pictures instead of words for pre-readers).
There are tons of free printable chore charts out there, but here are a few to get you started. Find some charts that you want to use, then print them out, or be ready to customize them with specific chores which you will do in Step #2 below!
- Free Chore Charts from KidPointz
- Create Your Own Custom Chore Chart
- More fun Chore Chart templates you can print
- One more cute resource to make your own custom Chore Charts
- I love this mama’s idea of a Chore Jar for “extra” paid jobs!
Step #2: Choose Age-Appropriate Chores
The next step is choosing some age-appropriate chores for your children to do. I would suggest starting small, so you don’t overload your children with a long list. You can always add to it and build up over time, but for now just start with a few!
Here are some great places online where you can find lists of chores for each age group.
- Chore List from Focus on the Family
- Age-Appropriate Chores List for Kids (Free Printable) from The Happy Housewife
- Another List of Age-Appropriate Chores
- Age-Appropriate Chores List from Amy at Raising Arrows
Another tip I would add here, is to print out a complete list of chores for all ages for EACH child. Staple it all together and put their name at the top. As each child masters a certain chore, you can put a checkmark beside it and even date it if you want. If you have a large family and you want to make sure your child gets trained to do all the different types of chores, this is a great way to keep a record of who has learned what. This can also be used as a reference when you get to Step #3 below, so you can easily see what new chores each child needs to learn yet.
Step #3: Decide on a System to Re-Evaluate & Re-Assign Chores
Depending on the ages and number of children you have, you will need to decide on some sort of system to work with. When I was growing up, I had one brother and one sister, and we rotated chores each month. But if you have younger children, it may be best to stick with the same chores for a longer period of time so they have a chance to really learn them.
As your children grow, you can have the older children teach the next youngest the chores they are doing, and then let them take over. The older child can then be assigned more advanced chores, or be taught harder chores by an older sibling.
I know many large families who assign chores to each of their children and stick to the same chores for a whole year. They use the summers to re-evaluate and re-assign chores for the new year since most will have more time to do the training needed during the summer months.
We’d Love to Hear From You!
How do you handle setting up a “Chore System” for your kids? Please share in the comments so we can all learn from one another!
We are all at different seasons of our lives, with kids of different ages, so by sharing how you handle chores with your children it may be just what someone else needs to hear!
Please hop down to the comments and share with us how you handle children’s chores in your home! Thanks!
