Chore Chart for Large Families

A while back, I wrote a blog post called The Talking Back Syndrome, Getting the Chores Done - and, apparently, there are a lot of parents searching for chore chart ideas. I have finally come up with a concept that works for my house - and it's been working well for six months, with little to no friction from my kids!

It definitely helps to have a crew of kids to allocate the chores around the house too! :)

So, here is my secret: I split the chores in the house into four sections/chores (Because I have 4 children who are old enough to handle the chores):

1) Wash dishes, clean dining room, clean living room.

2) Dry dishes, wash counters, wash stove.

3) Clean hallways and stairway and upstairs bathroom

4) Laundry, basement, downstairs bathroom.

Next to the calendar, I made a list of the chores with detailed explanations of how each one is expected to be done. Of course, everyone is going to have their own necessary daily chores, but for our family, this works great. Each child has one difficult task and some easy tasks. For instance, the dishes are not so easy but the dining room and living room are pretty quick.

Next, I listed the children's names on the calendar each day and put a number next to their name. I rotate this number each day, so the chores don't get monotonous. Every day, when the kids get home from school (or on weekends, when they wake up), they automatically know the routine. They immediately go to the calendar to check their number and then start working on their chores.

They are all responsible for keeping their own rooms clean at all times and must take the trash out as needed.

My Incentives

It never hurts to give them some incentive, either. There are days when they want to bicker and fight with each other...or simply don't feel like doing their chores. And, we can understand that...we feel that way too, sometimes, don't we? So, I will offer them a snack of their choice once their chores are done, or if I'm planning a "special dinner", I will tell the children that I'm making French Toast - their favorite - for dinner if they get their chores done by a specific time. (Tricky me, huh?)

On occasion, when the chores aren't so bad, I just set the timer on the stove and tell them to get as much as they can get done by the time the buzzer goes off and then they can go off to play.

For the most part, though, the children know that once their chores are done, they are free to do whatever their hearts desire for the rest of the evening. And, quite often, that's enough incentive for them to do the chores on their own.

Still Struggling?

If you find that you are still struggling with getting your kids to do the chores, I will let you in on another secret of mine. As I was making up the chore list and splitting the areas up, I asked for - and listened to - the children's ideas, solutions, and feedback. They were actually the ones who decided how the chores in the house should be split up. They agreed that the four numbers were equally fair. They agreed that the alternating number schedule was fair...

And, they actually take responsibility for their chores every day. Okay, it's no secret that I have wonderful children and that I love them dearly, but I think the fact that I involved them in the chore-chart making process is what makes the whole routine so much easier...they were the ones that made the decisions!