If you have kids, do they have daily or weekly chores? Do you ever feel frustrated over managing these chores (when what we really hope is that they’ll just do them without being asked, prompted, or prodded)?
Do you remember having daily or weekly chores growing up? To be quite honest, I can’t remember having many chores aside from keeping my room clean and getting myself ready for the day.
What Daily or Weekly Chores Looked Like For Me Growing Up (and Now)
I grew up in a family of four, and all of us were gone the majority of the day, every day. Both of my parents worked and my sister and I went to school. So, the house didn’t really seem to get messy (my mom might say otherwise!) because we weren’t home all the time.
But now I’m grown, and I have a family of six. And we homeschool. So we spend a lot of time in our home. Messes accumulate hourly (at least).
I know some would disagree, but managing four kids is a lot for this mama! Feeding them, assembling their school work, keeping our spaces clean…it adds up quickly.
So my kids have had chores of some sort since around age 4 or 5. And prior to those ages, I try to encourage them to help in tasks they are capable of! Even littles can help with some laundry folding, dish washing, setting the table, or putting away child-safe dishes.
(If you’d like to check out a list of age-appropriate chores, here is a good one.)
So, YES my kiddos have daily and weekly chores…and YES I get frustrated when I have to remind them to do said chores…over and over.
But I still think chores are important!
Here are 5 reasons kids benefit from daily or weekly chores:
- Daily or weekly chores teach responsibility.
- Daily or weekly chores truly help keep the home running a little more smoothly and take a load off of EVERYONE’s plate. If everyone is doing a little something, no one is having to do EVERYTHING.
- Chores can help kiddos develop gross and fine motor skills and coordination.
- Chores facilitate a sense of belonging. If everyone in the family has a set of chores they are responsible for, there is unity in that. And this helps kids feel like they are an important part of the family! Take the time to praise them when they complete their chores, especially for a job well done!
- Chores help to keep kids from getting in trouble. There’s always something that can be done! Chores are a positive behavior that yield a productive result. That doesn’t mean they always come easily or that kids never fight during chores or that kids never have to redo chores. But with a focused task at hand (and a backup list if necessary for particularly “boring” days), chores can help kids stay out of trouble!
Daily or weekly chores don’t have to be difficult or time consuming.
Here’s what a typical chore load looks at my house for most of my kids:
DAILY
*make bed
*get ready
*clean your room (or bathroom depending on the day)
*help with breakfast (not every kid every day)
*clean up breakfast dishes, start dishwasher if full
*practice piano
*school
WEEKLY
*take out trash
*vacuum your room and the living room
*sweep and mop your bathroom
*sweep the front and back porch
*wipe down the fridge and dishwasher (2x a week)
*do your own laundry (wash, dry, put away) (2x a week)
*launder your bedding and put it back on the bed
I’m sure I forgot something, but all in all their daily chores shouldn’t take them very long.
And sure, a child isn’t going to do everything at the caliber an adult will. But given the chance, over time, they’ll get better.
The tradeoff is always worth it to me, because I know my kids will be confident in the kitchen, able to do their own laundry, and capable of cleaning a bathroom when they move out one day.
Future children-in-laws, you.are.welcome!
How We Keep Track of Daily or Weekly Chores
We’ve employed various methods of communicating expected chores and monitoring whether those chores are completed or not. Some tools we’ve used include:
- a magnetic chore chart (I can’t find a link to the one we used, but there are multiple options)
- a chore pack (this video is a little long, but the first three minutes give you a good idea of the system)
- chores posted on a chalkboard in their bathroom
- printable chore chart (I’ve got some for you in a minute!)
- allowance (this has never been enticing to my children– what!?)
- this app (I loved the idea of this. It worked well for awhile and is one I might come back to. But right now it’s too much for me to have another thing to track).
None of those methods have been perfect for us. I don’t think we will ever find a perfect method. Each of these methods have worked well for a time, then we’ve needed a “fresh start” of sorts.
I usually know when it’s time for a fresh start because daily or weekly chores begin to get skipped or done sloppily. The way I approach this is first by reminding and correcting (sometimes more kindly than others, which I hope someone out there relates to).
And then I change our plan. I switch up who does what chores so their days are a little “newer” feeling. And I often change up our monitoring system.
This year we are going from some cute chalkboards in the kids’ bathroom to printable checklists for each reading aged child. (But I’ll be finding something else to write on those chalkboards because they look pretty cute in the bathroom to me).
How to Get the Free Printables I’m Using to Track Our Daily and Weekly Chores This Year
Sidenote: I’ve recently set up an email list where my readers can subscribe to my newsletter. This newsletter isn’t very existent right now, so you don’t have to worry about getting spammed.
You actually never have to worry about that because I’m pretty crummy at email. But I’d like this newsletter to update you on blog posts so you don’t miss anything or have to go hunt for anything.
I’d also like to use the newsletter to share with you anything I come across that I value and may be of value to my readers. And maybe every once in awhile I’ll have a freebie to include with it, who knows?
Anyway, I’d love to share these free printable chore checklists with you, as a thanks for subscribing.
You can subscribe AND receive the free printables here. There are three options and you are welcome to them all!
I plan to laminate mine and let the kids check their chores off with a wet-erase marker (vis-a-vis is the brand we use).
If you’d like to subscribe but don’t want the free printables, you can still follow the link, or you can enter the subscribe box at the bottom of this page!
I hope you enjoy these and your chore ventures are not in vain.
Which printable is your favorite?
Do your kids have chores?
Do you have a system you’ve used that you think I should know about?
Drop your answers to those questions in the comments– or leave any ol’ comment. I love hearing from you!
