We all know how chores can be such a – well, chore. But as adults we do them anyway; the kids, on the other hand, still need to learn how to handle doing something they don’t really want to do. Sure, forcing them is one way (and sometimes the only choice). But for a start, try making chores fun – that might help too!
Make it a shared thing
Rather than each doing their own chore whenever is most convenient, try to synchronize chores and work at it together. For instance – one child making the bed, another putting away toys, while the parents fold laundry. It feels like less of a pain when everyone’s a part of it.
Put on some music
This one is a well-known trick from the adult world: when you have to clean or cook, the best way to make time fly is with music. It adds rhythm to whatever it is you’re doing, which is already fun, plus you can focus on the work itself and do your chore automatically and poof! You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll discover you’re done.
Turn it into a game
To some chores you can add a challenging or competitive aspect to make them more enjoyable. The classic version of this is with sorting out toys. When your child needs to clean up after play time, don’t just pick up toys and put them in the box – how about throwing them in and seeing how many they can get in one shot?
Another good one is the “Go Fish” version of folding socks. Give each member of the family a randomly chosen part of the sock-pile and make a game out of matching them. And of course there’s the timer option: when you need to finish a chore in just, say, 90 seconds, pulses go up and excitement is automatically on!
Add a background story
To get them in the spirit, use your (and their) imagination and turn the chore into a whole story. The room doesn’t just need to be tidy for tidy’s sake – the child, a secret agent, infiltrated it to steal the secret diamond! Hide some kind of special object among the toys for them to search (while tidying of course.) And then the room has to be super clean look like no one’s been in it, as so not to raise any suspicions…
Give rewards
And finally, if all else fails, you can always go for the reward system. It can either be immediate, as in, help fold laundry to get some TV time, or accumulative, as in, each chore is worth such and such points, and the children can redeem them for different-sized prizes.
How do you get the little ones to do their chores?
Share tips in the comments section and send this to your parent friends!