Carla Mahar, Extension Educator
University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension
There probably is not a parent and child that have not hassled over doing chores. If this is a major problem in your household, here are some tips to help.
Decide with your child what chores will be done. Some chores should be the child’s responsibility as a member of the family. Others may be tied to receiving an allowance or special privileges.
Chores should fit the age development of the child. Don’t set your child up for failure by giving them tasks they are not able to do.
Set up a point system. Each chore would have a number of points. The points would be earned toward an allowance or special privileges. Example: Allowance = $5/week or 5 privileges = 500 points. Assign each chore # points i.e., make bed = 100 pts. = $1 or 1 privilege. Put up a point chart where the child can see it. (For young children stickers or stars may be used instead of money.)
Be consistent. Regularly check on the chores and keep up the chart. For young children it is best to operate on a weekly basis.
Consider including treasure points for long term goals. Give extra points each week for completed tasks. These points will grow towards a purchase or privilege the child wants. Long term goals change so allow the child to change the goal down the road.
Give clear directions as to how the chore is to be done: i.e., neat room - top of dresser neat, articles put away, trash thrown away, no items on floor
Follow-up is critical. Check to make sure the job is done to your satisfaction. If the chore is not done or only half done, repeat directions and have the child do the job over or complete it. Subtract half the points. If the job still is not done right, take away all the points.
Don’t take away earned points from the child if chores are not done to satisfaction. This is disheartening and does not happen in the world of work. The same should apply for chores during vacation, illness, etc.
Change chores occasionally so they do not become tedious. New chores will teach new skills.
Think of the point system as being similar to work. You receive pay for doing your job, raises for long term service, and bonuses for work beyond expectations. In the same way, your child will learn the value of doing a job right. Hopefully you will treat your child like you would like to be treated by your boss and vice versa. This week give some thought to setting up a point system for chores and if you like the idea, talk to your child about it. Then log on to unlforfamilies.unl.edu; click on TIPS, then on Feedback and let us know how the tips worked.
