How Can I Make My Kids Do Chores?

How many times do you have to yell at your kid to make their bed or feed the dog? Other parents may tell you that it’s simple to get your kids to do chores - just “make them”! What if there were a way where everyone wins? No swindling or forcing. Instead, you can try to motivate kids to do their chores. 

Sound impossible? Keep on reading.

Why Are Chores Important? 

That’s a great question! After your voice has gone hoarse from yelling upstairs at your child to come down and mow the lawn, you may wonder, “are chores even necessary?”. The truth is, contributing to the household from a young age has plenty of value. 

Showing children that everyone helps out and contributes instills in them that that’s just the way life is. Everyone cooperates, and everyone benefits from that teamwork. No one is left out and no one is above helping out. 

Completing chores also provides children with a sense of accomplishment, making them more resilient, accountable, and even independent. This is even more important when they’re older and living away from you. 

However, forcing or “making” kids do chores can eliminate many of those benefits. After all, you don’t want them to associate chores with any kind of negativity or punishment. Rather, this is simply a part of life and a daily requirement. 

Five Ways to Make Your Kids Do Chores

Understanding what chores are best for children is one thing, but making them do them is another thing entirely! Here are five proven ways to keep your kids on track with their chores.

1. Removing Distractions

In today’s day and age, that seems nearly impossible, doesn’t it? Screens are everywhere you look - heck, many of us even wear them on our wrists! It is possible, though.

A tried-and-true method that many parents have seen success with is a rule that electronics are all turned off until chores are done for the day. 

That means that there’s no smartphone, no video games, no laptop, etc. until they’ve accomplished their chores. If they have another distractor, obviously use that instead of the aforementioned devices. 

2. Set a Time Limit 

For whatever reason, younger children seem to be better at doing chores in a timely manner than teenagers. This goes doubly if you make it a challenge for them. Saying something like, “I bet you can’t put all your books and toys away in 5 minutes!” is a surefire way of knowing they’ll clean up with a smile on their face and have it all done in that amount of time. 

With teenagers, you can’t be quite as sneaky. Not only that, but they’re oftentimes operating on their own schedule. They may take hours-long naps or may be distracted by the amount of time they spend in front of a screen. We’ve all done it. You start browsing the internet and suddenly an hour has passed by. 

The point is, setting a time limit will get tasks done. Make sure that you set an allotted amount of time appropriate for the time of day and task at hand. Mowing a huge lawn in 15 minutes isn’t a fair estimation and can ensure your lawn looks anything but manicured. After all, it’s not about just getting the chores done quickly. It’s also about making sure they’re done correctly. 

Most chores should take around 10 to 15 minutes, but try to make sure you aren’t assigning them more than 30 minutes (in total) of chores per day. You don’t want to overwork or stress your kids out, after all. 

What happens if those 10 or 15 minutes they have to do their chore have passed and they still aren’t done? 

There will be consequences. Maybe they have an earlier bedtime, maybe they lose their phone for the evening - you’re the boss, so you get to choose what that will be. 

3. Make a Routine

Just about everyone has a better chance of success with some kind of schedule or routine. This is absolutely true for chores, too. Try to come up with a schedule that works for everyone. For example, if you have a school-age kid, try to avoid assigning them chores before they go to school. 

It’s stressful enough having to get dressed, collect homework, and make sure you get to school or to the bus on time. Doing chores only adds stress that is quite frankly, unnecessary. Of course, during summertime, that isn’t the case, and morning chores are probably even preferable. That way they get all day and evening free!

4. Don’t Use Chores As Punishment

As we already mentioned briefly, you really want to focus on creating a positive association with chores. Make them fun! You can have a race to see who can rake the most leaves, put groceries away the neatest, and so on. 

When kids get older, you can give them high-fives or show them other ways that you’re glad they did their chores. Try to avoid using chores as punishment, as this can have the opposite effect. After all, the importance of chores is in why they do them. 

5. Use Chore Tracking & Reward Systems

This is debated heavily among parents, and you can choose what works best for your family. Some don’t like the idea of rewarding kids for doing chores. After all, they’re not going to receive a reward every time they do the dishes as adults. 

On the other hand, it undoubtedly helps motivate children to do their chores. We don’t work for free, do we? 

It comes down to knowing your child. Are they the type who will never help out unless they’re getting paid or somehow benefit from it? If so, then perhaps you can skip the reward systems. Instead, use a chore-tracking app like Family Daily so they can be held accountable and never miss a day.