Growing up, I did lots of chores. Living on a farm meant house and outside chores, including feeding the animals and shoveling manure. It was never a very fun part of my life, but it was a necessity and taught me diligence and work ethic.
Although we currently live in town, I feel that it’s important that my kids learn to do chores, even at the youngest of ages. But sometimes doing the same thing over and over again can be a drag. My children can be reluctant to pick up their (very) messy rooms or dust the furniture some days, and that makes this momma a bit grouchy herself!
A grumpy attitude on everyone’s part leads to a very unpleasant experience, and while I don’t expect my children to love doing chores (let’s face it, I don’t love doing them!), I think that it’s okay to bring in something new and different to shake things up and make clean-up time more pleasant.
“In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You’ll find the fun and–snap!–the job’s a game.” Mary Poppins
I want to share with you four ways to make chores more fun! I’ve used these methods with my own children (7, 4 and 2) and hopefully they will work for yours as well!
Page Two – Making Chores Fun
The flashlight idea is priceless! I used to do the 2 Minute Tidy and it worked. Now, with a teenager, we just do a chore chart. But the incentive is screen time.