Kids won’t like doing their chores. So how do you entice them to do them, without nagging, yelling or having them ignore you?
1. Expose them to as many chores as possible.
2.Remove the distractions.
3.Set a time limit to complete chores.
4.Never use chores as a punishment.
5. Reward them!
Do not do your own housework when kids are not at home as tempting as it may be. They need to be aware this is something that gets done by their parents on a regular basis and it is a part of every day life. They need to see you set aside the things you enjoy doing so that the work around the house gets done especially the time involved to get it all done such as laundry, cleaning, cooking, preparing lunches, etc.
Make sure they understand that their screen time or Lego, Barbie time ends when the chores need to be done and the sooner they complete them, and complete them well (not rushed), they will be able to get back to what they were doing.
Consider a team approach where the whole family does chores together. Assign tasks, set a time limit, cheer everyone on. When the children are able to see everyone participating, this makes it a more appealing, fun thing to do. Do not exclude your toddlers, involve them. They always tend to “want” to help anyways. It is never to early to start teaching your children life skills they will need for their lives later on.
Set up a rewards chart where you list all of the things you child did and helped with and assign stars to each. As they collect stars, they can redeem them for fun activities they love doing, a special gift or a treat. Think about the lesson here, you will be teaching your children the value of their work matters and will be rewarded.
Remember to lower your expectations. Overall, try not to stress over the end result. Your children may be still young and not entirely able to complete their chores the way you would expect them to. But teaching them to participate on a regular basis, respect the need to do chores and then enjoy the rewards will be invaluable lessons they will use throughout their lives.