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6 Ways to Motivate Kids to Do Chores

By Martha Sanders

Doing household chores may not be your kids’ idea of a fun activity, but there are plenty of good reasons to get them involved. Children who have regular assigned household tasks feel a sense of self worthy and competency. They also grow up into responsible adults, and show higher levels of self-confidence.

No child is too young for household chores. In fact, kids as young as two can be guided and do simple daily housework. They can help to pick up toys and put them back into the toy box or help feed a pet. Older children can help clear the table, load the dishwasher or clean their own room.

How to Get Kids to Do Household Chores

1. Involve your kids in decision making, and explain the benefits of doing housework as a family.

Write a list of who does what. Responsibilities should be divided equally and fairly. Make sure your kid is able to do what you ask.

Also, include mom’s and dad’s chores in the list. Working together side by side with your kids, especially younger ones, is a great role model for them.

2. Rotate chores from week to week so your kid isn’t stuck doing the same old task he or she dislikes. Give every child the chance to do different chores to prevent boredom.

Moreover, kids also get to learn different life skills when assigned different household chores.

3. Make household chores fun to get kids motivated. Music work wonders with preschool-age children, so make a clean-up song to hold their interest.

Or, give them their own cleaning duster, dust pan, and rag. Letting children enjoy housework time will help them want to complete the task and do a better job.

4. Accept that kids aren’t perfect so don’t complain or nag if your child doesn’t do things “right”. Be patient, and inspect their work to make sure the chore is done correctly.

Younger children will need more supervision. When kids become accustomed to their new duties, parents can cut back on monitoring and inspecting.

5. Be specific about what you want your kids to do so they know exactly what their duties are. Go over the chores required, and should show them how to do it.

For example, telling your child to clean his bedroom is vague. Instead, be clear about your instructions – you should say “change the sheets”, “pick up the toys and put them away in the box”, “wipe the book shelves”, etc.

6. Always thank them when they've completed a chore and praise them for doing it well. Children needs lots of praise and encouragement to stay interested in helping.

I suggest parents have a chart on the refrigerator with each kid’s name on it, with their chores listed next to their names. If they do their job well, they get a check. When they get 5 checks, they receive some kind of reward.

A small snack, a trip to the zoo, or allowing them to stay up 30 minutes past bedtime are good rewards to show your appreciation.

Every family member should contribute to maintaining a clean and organized home. The skills and responsibility kids learn through doing household chores will last them a lifetime.

how to get kids to help out around the house

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