Kid Chores

We've tried many variations of chore systems in our house and none of them have really worked. Mostly because it requires a parent to really stay on top of it and I am not that consistent. A while back, we decided to just have Saturday chores. Usually on Friday evening, I will write up what needs to be done around the house and give each kid four chores. They have to get a parent's sign off of the chore before they can check it off. So far it has worked really well. They generally do these chores without complaint and work fairly efficiently. And with four of them, the house is usually pretty good after they've completed the 16 chores. Now, the tub's not scrubbed and the floors aren't perfect, but they're getting better each week and I was fairly surprised at how good the living room looked today after they were done.

The thing that doesn't work very well is to have two kids work together on one chore. Today I had Reid and Cole cleaning their room and Jacob and Zach cleaning theirs. Jacob and Zach screamed at each other over and over again. Reid and Cole wouldn't stop being silly and playing. However, I pretty much stayed out of it except for the occasional, "You know you can't play until your chores are done." Eventually they were done and all was right in the world again. And I have a clean living room that's been vacuumed, clean and vacuumed bedrooms, wiped down bathroom, vacuumed stairs, and dirty clothes where they belong. All that for only 13 years of child rearing. Not a bad deal. :)