Assigning and Charting Chores

When you're assigning tasks, you might choose to simply rotate responsibilities, you might decide to give each child (and adult, too) an area of responsibility, or you might do both. There are advantages to each approach (but I suggest you try number 3!):

1. Chore rotation works well when there's a similarity in skill and independence level among the kids in the household, and there's a variety of household tasks to be done (some more unpleasant than others). Rotating chores means that sometimes you get off easy with folding laundry, and sometimes you're mucking around in toilets, but everybody has an equal chance for easy and hard jobs. The advantage is that, because you're changing jobs all the time, nobody gets bored, and nobody gets stuck forever with the “yucky” stuff.
2. Chore ownership is a system where each person has responsibility for a certain chore, or chores. “Danny cleans the birdcages and Cindy wipes down the counters before bed.” The advantages to chore ownership are that, should there be a breakdown and something doesn't get done, you don't have to go searching for a schedule, kids can gain a sense of pride in “their” jobs, and that pride will reflect in the quality of their work. Also, lots of experience in one area leads to increased skill. Downside? A bathroom that doesn't ever quite get clean and boredom. If you decide to assign permanent or semipermanent tasks, make sure you're being equitable (even if it isn't equal) and involve the kids in the decision about who does what jobs. They'll have preferences, try to accommodate them.
3. The big combo factor. I believe the secret to making chores work for your family can be found in one word: options. If you assign certain chores (such as cleaning bedrooms and, say, taking out the trash) as “owned” chores, and rotate others (say, the bathroom and mopping floors, 'cause nobody loves doing it all the time), then your child will feel better about the chore system. Use family meetings as times to set up rotating chore charts, and allow your kids to choose from a variety of options.

It's a Good Idea!

Most household chores (unless they involve toxins or sharp edges) can be done by a small child with adult support. As time goes by, the child can “grow into” them.

You can also provide “trade-in” chores. Say Paula is scheduled to clean out the refrigerator, but she just can't stand the idea. She can trade in her refrigerator chore for the chore of washing the car, or cleaning the attic. (See the sample chore chart, below.) Kids also sometimes like to trade chores. Develop a policy that trading chores should happen at family meetings, or with the agreement of a parent, to ensure that the trading is fair, and nobody gets the shaft.

Which Chores for Whom?

What types of participation should your child be asked for? It's really a matter of “know your child.“ A lot of books list tasks for kids and the ages the jobs become appropriate. I don't like to do that because kids vary so widely, in their development, skills, and interests.

This list of household tasks is here to get you thinking. Choose tasks that you (and your child) think are appropriate, both in terms of development and temperament. Remember, this is only a starting place:

Emptying wastepaper baskets	Vacuuming family areas
Washing and folding laundry	Organizing the bookshelves
Setting the table	Organizing the videos and CDs
Clearing the table	Cleaning the attic
Doing the dishes	Cleaning the garage or storage shed
Loading and unloading the dishwasher or drain	Clipping coupons
Straightening family areas	Polishing doorknobs, railings, or silver
Dusting family areas	Mopping floors
Cleaning toilets or sinks or showers	Organizing the recycling
Caring for the pets (walking, grooming, feeding, cleaning cages)	Taking out garbage
Exterior of house (windows, mowing, raking, gardening)	Making a shopping list
Washing the car	Shopping
Washing dishes	Cooking meals

Charting the Chores

Parents rely on a variety of motivators and reminders to get their kids to do their chores. Some schedule the responsibilities on chore charts. Some paste gold stars on the calendar every time the child completes them. Some use a chip system-add a coin (or chip) to a jar every time a chore is done. When the jar is full, the child can trade the chips in for special treats. Use whatever works in your family.

No matter what method you choose, one thing is clear: Organization is key, and the bigger the family, the better the organization needs to be. If you are trying to set up a chore chart, you can use the example here as a model (notice that all the kids, even the little ones, are included):

Rotating Chore Chart		For the week of ______
Who?	What?	By When?
Maria	Take out all trash	Tuesday evening before bed
Maria	Set the table	5:25 P.M. every night
Maria	Empty dishwasher	Tuesday and Thursday after school
Tony	Clean parakeet cage	Tuesday evening before bed
Tony	Clear table and load dishwasher	After dinner every night
Tony	Empty dishwasher	Monday and Wednesday after school
Little Liz	Help Mommy with the grocery shopping	Wednesday afternoon
Little Liz	Hold the parking lot ticket	Every morning

Trade-Ins:

You can trade in one of your jobs this week in exchange for:

1. Ironing the pile of clean shirts in the laundry room, or
2. Spot cleaning the carpet (ask Dad for the spot remover), or
3. Cooking Sunday brunch and cleaning up! (Reminder: Grandma and the cousins are coming. This is a big job. Dad will be your assistant.)

Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to a Well-Behaved Child © 1999 by Ericka Lutz. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

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