Making kids do their chores is sometimes more work than doing the actual chores yourself. You may be bound and determined to teach your kids how to work. Chores teach them accountability, responsibility, life skills, and hard work. Teaching kids how to be productive members of society starts at home, and it starts with you as a Mom. Keep reading to learn how to implement your kids’ chore chart printable in your home.
Don’t forget to scroll down to get your free kids’ chore charts!
If you are looking for an entire chore system, check out my post Kids Chore Chart Cards Free Printable. I also have a tutorial on how I make my chore board.
Some Moms feel like their life is to serve their kids and do everything for them. I feel like my job as a Mom, is to teach them independence and responsibility. Because I won’t always be there to help them with every little thing and if I can teach them these important life skills now, they will be that much farther ahead when they are grown.
So what do you say? Are you with me? Are you ready to help your kids learn how to work hard, and be responsible?
Get a Chore Chart They’ll Love
An important part of introducing a chore chart is making it exciting! Although chores are not going to be fun for kids, there needs to be some positives about doing chores. Making a fun chore chart for them to look at can be a huge helper! Colorful chore charts are way more exciting than plain black and white ones.
Don’t forget to scroll down to download your own free chore chart, I have six different color variations!
If your kids are really young, they get especially excited about a new chore chart. Marking things off the list can also be really satisfying for kids as they accomplish each specific chore.
If your kids are really young, stickers are a great way to go. You could even make it some sort of an event and make it exciting for them by allowing them to go to the store with you to pick up stickers. Or let them pick out some stickers online that they are excited about.
Choose Age-Appropriate Chores
It’s also important to choose age-appropriate chores for kids to do. If you have “Clean the Playroom” as one of their chores but they take one look at the playroom and burst into tears, it might not be age-appropriate! Or it might be too hard of a chore for their age.
Even as adults, when we see a huge project in front of us we easily get overwhelmed and shut down. But if you can give them chores that are age-appropriate, they can feel accomplished and successful when they complete these tasks. Here is a great article for age-appropriate kids that you’ll find really helpful.
Our Chore Schedule
Here is a picture of all of my kids’ chore charts. We have a rule that they have to get all of their chores done (except their daily reading) before 8:00 AM. I wake them up at 7:00. Some of their chores are as simple as brushing their teeth (which, in my opinion, isn’t really a ‘chore’). Some of them are more difficult such as vacuuming the family room or my very favorite: cleaning out the car (and their least favorite I might add).
Why I don’t Pay My Kids For Most Chores
Growing up in my family, I wasn’t paid for chores. But I do remember my parents always had chores for us to do. And looking back, I really appreciate the effort that they spent to teach us how to work.
We do not pay our kids for chores but they have a list of daily chores that they need to accomplish before they are allowed access to screens, games, or friends. My kids do not get paid for chores because I believe that there are many chores that need to be done because they are a part of the family and need to help pull their own weight.
As a mom, I am not in charge of doing everything for everyone. It’s a team effort and while they don’t love doing chores now, I know they will grow up and appreciate it later.
How To Still Teach the Value of Money
Some people argue that they give their kids money for chores so that their kids can learn the value of money. I completely agree with this concept which is exactly why we have extra chores that my kids can do in order to earn the cold hard cash they’re looking for! Aside from their regular chores, I have come up with a list of age-appropriate chores that each of them can do if they would like to earn more money.
The amount of money they get for each chore depends on the difficulty of the chore. Some chores are worth $0.25, some chores are worth way more! In order to keep this straight, we have a kid’s chore chart, as well as kid’s chores cards so that we can easily differentiate between what chores are paid and what chores need to be done in order for my kids to access their privileges each day (such as playing with friends or watching screens.
Pick Appropriate Incentives
When my oldest daughter was very small, I went to the dollar store and stocked up on a bunch of junkie toys that I thought would incentivize her towards completing her chores. It worked great for the first couple weeks but over time, it got old and she lost interest.
The reality was that giving our kids more and more and more stuff isn’t doing them any favors. So I no longer buy my kids dollar store toys in exchange for doing their chores. That might work for some families but I just felt like it brought in more junk into my house that broke into seconds and went into the trash.
Another option would be to have experiences that they can work towards. For example, if you have a child who loves animals, maybe create some sort of incentive system where they can earn a trip to the zoo! Or if you have really active kids, let them work for a trip to the trampoline park! I find that these activities are so much more rewarding for kids and so much better than more toys!
Kids Chore Chart Printable
Below I have created chore charts in 6 different colors for you to download and use in your own home. The best part? They are editable! So you can download the PDF and then type in the Names and chores that are best suited for your family.
I also forgot to mention that I always print mine out on white cardstock and laminate them. Then they can just check off their chores using dry-erase markers and wipe it off at the end of the week. Much less paper waste.
I have included a link (below) to my favorite laminating sheets and a laminator that has great reviews (they don’t sell my laminator anymore). Enjoy!
Shop this Post
I have been searching on this but am unable to find where to download the free printables. I would love to print the chore chards and extra chore cards. Please help!! I also signed up for your newsletter.
Did you check your spam folder?
What do you have listed on the bottom of the chore chart where it has the days of the week listed?
Hey Candy! I have chores that my kids do every day and then I have a “Weekly Chore” that rotates depending on the day. So for example, doing their laundry doesn’t have to be done every day, but just on Mondays. Does that make sense? Hope that helps!
So sorry!! I found it in my “promotions” folder!! Thanks so much!!