Hopefully if you are here, you already believe in the worth of chore charts. If you are still on the fence deciding, I would love to refer you to the following studies that support the power of daily responsibilities and what they can do for your kids. (80 year Harvard study here) A partial summary of these studies includes the following benefits. When we teach our children to participate in household chores and hold them responsible they learn the following:
- Greater self esteem
- Better ability to work in a group
- A sense of responsibility that counteracts entitlement
- A sense of accomplishment
- Confidence in developing life skills
- Better success as an adult
That last one alone should be reason enough to give us the fortitude to consistently teach the nitty gritty often times mundane chores to each of our kiddos! Here is an example of what a chore chart looks like for a 5-6 year old child in my home.
A few things I hope you notice about the chart above:
- I design the chore chart with my kiddo sitting next to me. That way they can pick out a couple fun graphics to personalize their chart! I also have them brainstorm with me the privileges they want to do after completing their daily chart. In this way, I have made a reminder of the responsibilities, but also the fun! I am a big proponent for both! (We can talk about the vital importance of play on another day!) This laminated chart is going to go on the fridge with magnets. I usually end up creating a new chore chart per kiddo a couple times each year. Why so much? Because as they grow older, they might add a second musical instrument and need to practice that; Or a sport or dance! Also because they have practiced their math facts daily, they have mastered them and that can be taken off. This chart is meant to support the individual and their evolving needs!
- Not listed on the chart, but certainly understood by my kiddos, is beds being made, rooms tidied, teeth and hair being brushed all need to happen before school. In our house, if you finish half of your chore chart before school, you get to take a treat in your lunch or earn extra marbles for your jar! (Definitely check out Marble Jar Magic! We love that system in our home!) Generally my kids will try to practice the piano before school or will ask to do a chore. I have a list of chores on the fridge and the kids check with me to see if that would be a good choice for them. (Age Appropriate) Please know we also sometimes have those crazy mornings where a kiddo is just running behind and it’s all we can do to pack a lunch, brush our teeth and get out the door! That’s just life, but often we are able to stick to a routine!
- Notice I have listed “Read to Mom” and also “Mom reads to You!” The kids love that I have a chore on their charts! I love to read to my kiddos and they love it too. You should see them grin when they have practiced their piano, have read to me for a while and now it’s my turn. It’s a happy bonding built right in. Plus as you know there are a dozens of reason to read to your child! #1 It’s fun! More here on that!! Try some of these books!
- On the chore chart we definitely have personal responsibilities for the kiddo listed, but we also have ways to practice more values than just work! “Secret Somethings” are our families way to encourage looking outside of yourself. I have written a post to explain about it in detail, plus how to create this culture in your family! We think it’s important enough to practice every day! Fun Fact: That is where the name for this blog came! 🙂 The other category on the chart is “Kind Words!” This is another soft skill of looking for the good in others! It’s quite simply compliments. Look for something your sibling, parent, teacher does well and tell them! This is an attribute I would love for my kids to emulate. Kind words have beautiful power to lift others! So we practice it. Hopefully through practice it will become part of our character right along with the ability to work, learn, develop new skills and play!!
- In our family we all help clean up after dinner and invariably help set the table too. We also read scriptures as a family and brush and floss before we go to bed. I do not have all these things listed on their individual charts because lots of that happens later, and I want my kids to have an end goal in which they know free time is coming! Hooray for playtime!
Feel free to download a copy of this chore chart and make it personalized to fit your kiddo. Add your own fun graphics and the things your child loves to do to play! Unquestionably it is more work to teach a child to work, than to do it yourself, but we are in the process of encouraging little humans to be their best. And that requires the best of us as well. It is a beautiful, taxing, rewarding and exhausting endeavor. May you be blessed while you strive to nurture the darling, energetic and individual children temporarily given to your care. Phew! Let’s go!
You’ve got this Mommy! 🙂
