My face scrunches up just thinking about chores.  I don’t like scrubbing toilets or showers, I groan every time I have to wipe down my kitchen counters (which is, like, 5 times a day), and I don’t even want to think about cleaning the oven… which is why it hasn’t been done in almost a year (oops).

I had to complete chores as a child.  I’m not talking about a few chores a week.  Basically, my sister and I cleaned our entire 3 bedroom/2 bathroom house between the two of us each weekend.  In my opinion, this may have been a bit over the top (sorry, Dad).  It took all of Saturday morning for us to do those chores and we weren’t allowed to do anything fun until they were done.  We still complain about it as adults!  While I think cleaning half of the house was a little extreme, I am a proponent of having children do chores on a regular basis.

There are multiple benefits of having your children complete chores:

1. Doing chores can build kids’ confidence and self-esteem (especially if they are praised for quality in completing their chores)!
2. It can take a load off mom and/or dad, which might mean more time to spend together as a family doing fun things.  If you divide the chores between more people, they (theoretically) get done faster.
3. Completing chores teaches responsibility… that can carry over into adulthood.
4. Doing chores can improve motor skills (especially for young kiddos).  Think of all the different movements your little one can master while picking up small objects or helping you dust furniture.
5. Doing chores can help your child feel like part of a family (or team), and that they’re contributing to how the family/team functions.

To get started, you’ll need to think about a few things: how many chores you want your child to complete per day, what chores you’d like them to do, and if there will be any kind of reward/allowance for completing chores.

Regarding the number of chores you want your child to do, a good place to start might be a daily chore and 2-3 more on weekend days.  You can always start small and build your way up to more.

To help decide which chores your kiddo will be responsible for, here are a few links to give you some ideas:

• Appropriate Chores by Age: 2 – Teen from the Universty of Arkansas
• Age-Appropriate Chores from Focus on the Family
• Age Appropriate Chores for Children from Psychology Today

Keep in mind that, depending on age, they may need some help.  You can start having children as young as 2 or 3 complete some chores – they’re definitely going to need help, but it can be fun to do those chores together!

Lastly, it’s your personal choice on whether you want to offer a reward/allowance.  There are benefits of both giving a reward and not giving one.  If you do decide to offer a reward/allowance for chore completion, keep in mind that 1) it doesn’t have to be a big reward and 2) remember to use contingency – your kiddo only gets the reward/allowance after they’ve met expectations for when and how well chores are completed.