Commission-based Chores for Your Kids

My kids are just reaching the stage where they are capable of helping out around the house.  The oldest of my kids (now in grade three) can make his bed without much difficulty, brush his own teeth (if you don’t mind a little yellow), understand the difference between cleaning his room and stuffing everything under the bed, and can clear a plate without spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor (which sadly, is usually still dirty from the night before.)  The younger two, while not quite as capable, are old enough to follow his lead and willing to work for anything that promises a reward. 

Allowances simply faded away, chore charts ripped down, treats eaten and then long forgotten.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve tried in vain to enforce regular duties for them.  Rewards have ranged from a weekly allowance to food bribery to sticker charts.  In the end, however, nothing ever stuck.  I’m as much to blame as my kids for our inability to stick it out.  My efforts too often fizzled after a couple of weeks when I would tire of my begging them to keep up the effort.  Allowances simply faded away, chore charts ripped down, treats eaten and then long forgotten.  Every once in a while, when my son was feeling the need to buy himself a little something special, he would lament the disappearance of his allowance and ask what happened to it.  I would reply with a sigh, what happened to making your bed?  We’d both shrug our shoulders and return to whatever we were doing. 

Many parents are against the whole allowance concept.  They claim that it teaches children entitlement, rather than encourages them to appreciate their contribution as a natural part of the household community.  I understand that thinking, but I don’t buy it.  Maybe that’s because I hate to clean almost as much as my kids do.  I wonder, what’s wrong with motivating a child to do something that nobody enjoys doing?  They’re still learning the importance of doing their duty, and doing it well.  My main problem with allowance in our house is the degree to which they are actually earning their keep.  I have trouble doling out a few bucks every Sunday when I see little evidence that they did anything the preceding six days of the week.  Or worse, if I had to constantly remind them to clean their rooms, clear their dishes, empty the recycle bin - in ever increasing decibels.

I’ve finally created a chore schedule that works for our family - it really works.  With it, my kids earn an allowance based on what they’ve done throughout the week.  And, because cash in the hands of young’uns is consumed like chocolate on Halloween (they don’t remember how it went so fast, and are soon asking for more), they pick an item that they’d like buy and its price becomes their earnings goal.  Once they’ve earned enough dollars, we go to the store.  Our latest purchase was a PC video game controller.  It took them about four weeks to earn it.

Here’s how it works.  One chart indicates exactly what chores are expected of each child and on what days of the week.  This is essential, as it prevents fighting over who did it yesterday or three days ago - everyone knows who has to do what, when.  So, Monday to Sunday are lined across the top and the chores are listed down the first column.  My oldest child’s name is in the most boxes because he is the most capable, next my middle child, and my youngest has only a few boxes.  Naturally, the eldest has the potential to earn the most money since he has the most duties to fulfill.  Here’s a pdf that you can look at to get an idea of how it works. I recommend creating your own in excel or word, but feel free to use this one, if you wish.  helpschedule

In addition, each child gets his or her own Points Chart.  This will be printed off at the beginning of every week and keeps track of how many points each child earns.  Parents need not chase their child around the house to enforce the bedmaking rule.  If the bed’s not made, Julie gets no point (I use signatures in these boxes so that the most impish of my kids can’t fake a point.)  At the end of every week, the points are talllied and added onto the next week’s chart.  You need to determine how many stars equal a dollar.  In our household, they earn one dollar for every eight “signatures” earned.  No one’s getting rich, but it’s enough to keep a young boy motivated.  Here’s a pdf that shows how this chart will look for each child.  Again - I recommend creating your own chart, as each family has different chores depending on the age of children and just how much work is expected by the parents.  pointschart 

I hang the charts up on a kitchen cupboard for them all to see.

I still nag my kids - if I could eliminate that with an easy-to-follow system, I’d sell it!  After all, I can’t put every little thing they do on a chore chart (putting on your boots to go outside is a necessity, not a chance to earn money), and that inevitably leads to the nag cycle.  However, when I remind them that they won’t earn a signature if they don’t set the table that night, they’re quite willing to do what they have to do.  They often count their points to see how far along they’ve come toward attaining their financial goals (read: earn enough money to buy a new DS game.)  Just don’t try to talk them into putting their hard-earned money into a savings account - that’s a motivation killer.