Are you stuck debating the various chore tracking options out there? Wondering which precise chart-and-sticker or chores-for-allowance system is right for your family?
Today, let’s get you over the paralysis by analysis hump and onto the kids-doing-chores freeway.
Because all that research into the perfect system won’t do you any good if you don’t actually enlist your kids.
If you’re ready to quit the delegation hum-haws, just keep listening!
Just do it
All right, here’s a little kick in the pants for you. Quit debating over the merits of one system vs. another.
Allowance or requirements; stickers or candy; magnetic or markers. Which should you pick?
I don’t care. Just do it!
Starting – on something, anything – is way better than stewing forever over the “perfect” yet unattainable system. (That somehow lives only in your head, because no one on Etsy has invented it yet so you can buy it.)
Um, WHY do we have to wait for someone to make us just the right magnets or the best-ever combo of stickers plus flip-up tabs?
Starting trumps perfection
Why not just start assigning five chores here and two chores there, and discover along the way that your son can’t handle more than two instructions in a row (right now) and your daughter takes thirty minutes (instead of ten) to pick up her room because she plays with all her stuffed animals?
No chore chart is going to tell you that.
You just have to live it (and notice your kids’ results).
You know what? Getting your kids going on doing chores is far more life-changing than setting up the perfect, early-childhood-educator-approved chore chart that works for ALL your kids, every time!
All that research into the perfect chore system won’t do you any good if you don’t actually start your kids on something.
Sometimes a little research is handy to predict what you’re likely to run into. I get that. (Hey, I like knowing what I’m getting into as much as the next mom!)
But most of the time, taking action is going to tell us what we need. What kind of morning chore routine suits our kids this school year. Whether we have time for room cleaning before school drop-off, or if that’s better suited for an afternoon break from homework.
No chore chart can predict FOR you what your kids can handle. What their ideal workload is at each time of day. How many reminders it’s going to take for them to get the hang of this new system.
That’s on you to figure out – by doing.
You’ll know as you get going
And if you’re still scared to dive in, remember this: You’ll find out pretty fast what adjustments you need to make, ONCE YOU START.
(Whether that’s the rewards, which kid’s doing what, or how many tasks are appropriate for your five-year-old.)
Action breeds clarity – so start taking that action!
- Ask your five-year-old to unload the knives and forks and see if she’s tall enough to reach the drawer.
- Have your eight-year-old attempt to drive the dumpster out to the curb – you’ll find out pretty quickly if he’s strong enough!
- Get your eleven-year-old going on chopping up the celery and watch how big the crescent rounds are.
You’ll see pretty fast if your kids are tall enough, strong enough, mature enough, steady-handed enough to keep this chore in their daily rotation (with a little practice to smooth off rough edges).
On the other hand, if your son isn’t tall enough to reach the cabinet to put dishes away (even with a stool), might be best to snooze that chore for a year or so.
And if your daughter isn’t strong enough to open the dumpster lid AND heave the trash bag over the rim, well, you know you need to wait on that one. (Back to taking the trash out yourself!)
But you’ll never know if you don’t try.
So. Which chore system have you been eyeing from afar, afraid to pull the trigger on? If you really kind of want to try it, go ahead. You’ll learn something.
If it sounds like a relief to ditch the research, start assigning chores on the fly, and release your kids from fancy before-school and after-school routines?
Go with that. Go with your gut. It’s nudging you for a reason. Follow that and see where it goes.
What are you going to start doing – TODAY – to get your kids going on the chores?
