Now that I am a mom, I find myself appreciating my amazing parents on a whole new level. I am so blessed to have been raised by two of the most wonderful parents in the world. I admire them so much, and for so many things. One of the biggest is for teaching me and my brothers how to work hard. This is one of the most important things I want to teach my children – the value of hard work.

I really believe that this can start even when they are little people. One of the ways we do this is by giving them chores, even my 18 month old has “chores” that he does. I am always amazed at the things my boys can do if I give them a chance and how happy they are to have jobs that they can do to help me.

Here are a few tips that have helped me with keeping chores organized and helping motivate the kiddos to get them done.

Assign age-appropriate chores:

Obviously there are some tasks that aren’t realistic or safe for my kids to tackle. I had to do some reading to help me figure out what chores are age-appropriate (especially for my youngest.) This is an idea-list I found on Pinterest that I really like. This is something that is really kid-specific, so each parent will have to make decisions about what will work for their family.

Image via Sports Mom Survival Guide

Choose a chore chart that works:

For younger kiddos who can’t read, pictures of the chore work might work better. Older kids will likely have chores that need more explanation. Again, figure out what will work best for your kids. I found our chore chart on Etsy and we really like it. There are photo magnets for each job that can be easily moved around and understood by my little non-readers.

Display the chart in visible location:

Charts need to be posted or stored where they’re easy to see and can be accessed by everyone (in case someone needs a little reminder.) Lots of locations would work, such as a bulletin board hung in the hallway, kitchen or even right in your child’s bedroom. If you choose to review the charts daily (my recommendation), you’ll want to set aside a special time, maybe right after dinner or before teeth brushing at night to review the accomplishments of the day. This gives you a chance to give praise and acknowledgement for completing the day’s chores.

Decide on an incentive/reward:

Each parent has to decide what their kiddo will earn when completing a chore. If you chose not to reward your children with money, they could instead earn privileges, such as a playdate, a movie or another reward. Putting up a visual reminder of the end goal can be helpful. Just like chore charts offer a visual way to track the completed tasks, putting the reward right on the chart can serve as a reminder and an incentive to complete their chores.

For me, the most important part of our chores and chore chart system is teaching my kids to complete a task (and sometimes how to do it) as well as helping them realize the satisfaction that comes from doing your best and helping others.

– Nicole