What are the biggest mistakes moms make when handing out the chores? Got any ideas?
Great – let’s see how your answers stack up.
‘Cause there is definitely a right and a wrong way to get your family involved in chores – and today it’s time for you to learn the right way.
Are you ready to start cleaning less? (Trick question, I know.)
Skip the tokens
Here’s your first mistake to skip out on: Giving your kids the token chores (bring your dishes over, make your bed, hang up your towel), which are really only about personal hygiene responsibility.
Newsflash: Chores are about way more than just cleaning up after yourself. They’re teaching you to do a share of the family’s work.
Which is why you need to treat chore participation with the seriousness it deserves and start requiring your kids to learn something around the house.
(Whether you prefer jack-of-all-trades kids or kids who have a cleaning/cooking specialty is up to you!)
And if you’re stumped on what else you could have the kids do – you’re already getting some buy-in on the task load – download your Sanity-Saving Chore Delegation Cheat Sheet for an exhaustive list of what my family delegates at what age.
Don’t be a taskmaster
Second, don’t dump ten chores on your kids at once. (Hey, you pre-vetted the chore lists, so you know all ten are within their capabilities!)
First you need to SHOW them how to do each chore (and wait on the final hand-off till they’re halfway accepting, not still in “I don’t know how to” panic mode).
Then, you need to make time for them. They don’t have the skills to do this yet (most likely), so reminding them it’s time for bathroom cleaning is YOUR job.
When during their day do they have spare time? What time does each chore NEED to be done by? (Try the same time you’d pick for yourself, for starters.)
Take a look at your Sanity-Saving Chore Delegation Cheat Sheet and add up how many chores are within your kids’ age ranges, then divvy up the task list accordingly.
(This way your helpful three-year-old won’t end up with more daily tasks than your grudging nine-year-old!)
Chores are about more than just cleaning up after yourself; you’re doing a share of the family’s work.
Keep your hand in
And three, you don’t HAVE to delegate something that you love.
Maybe sweeping is the easiest thing in the world to you (and your kids agree); that doesn’t mean you’re handing the broom to them, perpetually.
It’s good for them to see you doing a share of the chores. It reinforces that you each take a slice of the to-do pie, and gives your kids something tangible to watch you at.
(‘Cause I know the family schedule keeping and gift buying and bill paying are just as essential, but eight-year-olds care about if you’re scrubbing any floors or not.)
So there you have it: three chore delegation mistakes to avoid (going too light, going too heavy, and not participating yourself at all).
Which one describes what’s going on in your family?
- Do you just need a little push to enlist the kids on more to-dos? Grab the Sanity-Saving Chore Delegation Cheat Sheet and find out what’s in their age range.
- Are you hunting for a way to balance their enthusiasm with their energy? Count up how many chores each of your kids is doing and adjust as needed till they’re all doing roughly equal amounts (in each little kid-big kid-teen category).
- Got a yen for food prepping, but would love to delegate the dishes? Hand ‘em off, no guilt! Point out that food on the table is important, and that’s your contribution. (Just as clean dishes to eat off of are theirs.)
Get in the weeds (of your family’s to-do list), start handing out assignments, and watch your workload shrink.
It’s an amazing feeling.
And you deserve the capable, life-ready kids that come with it.
Which housekeeping task are you handing off today?
