Let’s talk about kids and chores. My three kids, ages 8, 10 and 12, have been using this chore chart for the better part of a year now and it’s really worked well for us. I think our new system catches the balance of doing work because you’re part of the family, but also giving a little reward or incentive. 

Here’s how it works: They each have a chore to do every weekday. When all the boxes are checked at the end of the month they each get $10. 

Chores

Here are a few suggestions when it comes to chores:

1. Keep it simple. If the chores are too complicated or take too long they won’t want to do them. If they know they can knock it out in a few minutes it doesn’t seem like as big a deal. So for example, I wash everyone’s laundry and put it in their room for them to fold and put away.

2. Show them how to do each chore. We can’t expect them to automatically know how to clean mirrors, fold a shirt or sweep dust into the dust pan. When we started, I made sure to show each child how to do each chore.

3. It takes some trial and error to get the chores on the right days for multiple kids. Keep tweaking it until it works for you. For example, everyone folds laundry on the same day so I can knock out all the laundry in one day a week, but not everyone can unload the dishwasher or clean the same bathroom on the same day. So I space these chores out on different days.

I use the same chart and print it off each month. I made it editable and with a few variations for number of children and days of the week. You can find it in my Etsy shop!

Money

It’s not a whole lot of money, but boy do they get excited about it! I think it’s because it seems more significant to be handed $10 in one lump sum rather than $1 here and $2 there. This amount has helped a lot with them asking us to buy little things like slime, stuffies or candy. They can decide for themselves if it’s worth it. They have a better appreciation of how much everyday things cost.

It’s interesting to see how they spend their money. I have one who saves up for bigger purchases, one who has holes in his pockets and one that actually wants to invest in stocks because he saw a commercial a year ago! But for the most part, because they worked for their money and only get paid once a month, they plan out what they want to do in advance and think twice before purchasing — especially because they earned it.

I used to do this chore chart when they were younger that assigned $0.50 to $1 for specific chores AFTER they had done their family chores. And it worked great for awhile — until they wanted more money and started arguing over who got to do what chore. I mean the plants can only be watered so many times during the week!

But with this new chart it’s already decided who does what chore and it keeps the house in somewhat good shape — especially now that they’re old enough that their chores actually help instead of make a mess ;) Now that it’s a routine, it’s saved us a ton of arguments. A lot of the time they do their chore of the day without being asked because they know it will only take a few minutes. And there’s something about making that checkmark on the fridge that they love. I think they feel a sense of accomplishment watching it fill up.

It’s a win-win situation because they’re learning life skills they’ll need to take care of themselves in the home and for the wallet.

So that’s how we do chores these days. It changes and evolves as they grow. Do you have set chores in your house? I’d love to hear your tips too!

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Printable options

You can use this personalized kids chore chart again and again. This is a PDF that is editable in Adobe Acrobat Reader! So that means you can customize it to your family’s specific needs. You can print it off each month or laminate it and use a dry erase marker. This simple design is great for older kids as well.

PDFs included:

• 4 children (5 days a week)
• 3 children (5 days a week)
• 2 children (5 days a week)
• 3 children or months (7 days a week)
• 2 children or months (7 days a week)

BUY $3

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For one child, check out this chore chart + daily routine printable. I actually use this one for myself too!

https://youtu.be/DxdX9kDurLg