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One of my goals for 2011 is to give my children regular “family contributions”.
I prefer the wording of family contributions over chores because we are a family, and to make our family run smoothly, we all have to pitch in.
And besides, the word chore just sounds tedious.
Abby Grace is 6 years old, and is a mean vacuum-er, so I am going to take advantage of utilize the fact that she loves vacuuming to make it one of her family contributions. She is happy, and I am tickled pink to pass that onto someone else on occasion.
Reese, is quite the little vacuum-er herself, but her small frame makes pushing a big vacuum a little hard. Luckily, she enjoys dusting and cleaning with this homemade, natural cleaner. I also plan on trying this homemade cleaning recipe!
Meleah, age 2, loves to clean and pick up toys. She likes everything to be in it’s place (the poor kid comes by it honestly!).
With this new goal in mind, I purchased the Deluxe Responsibility Chart, getting one for each girl. I truly love this thing! It is nice, sturdy, brightly colored, and fun. The girls enjoy adding their “prizes” (as they call them… the prizes are actually magnets!) to the magnetic board every evening.
I love the chart because it has tons of different chores and personal goals (like, “show respect,” and “not whining”) so you can customize to your child’s needs and abilities.
For example, all three girls are to make beds, pick up toys, and clear their places after meals. After that, the abilities of each girl begin to vary.
Abby Grace’s chore chart includes, “helping with indoor chores,” while Reese (who is having trouble with respect right now) has, “show respect” as one of her contributions. Little Meleah’s chart has only four items, with one being, “brush teeth.”
We have discussed each one with each girl, and at this point, everyone is on board and excited (hence the end of the title: Before).
Only time will tell if this method works for our family.
We are also implementing an allowance for the two older girls, that I am sure will coincide with their responsibility contributions.
Other great (free!) resources:
- Printable Chore Charts (by age) / Moms Who Think
- Printable Chore Chart Ticket System / Tip Junkie
- Chore System and Chore Chart / Homeschool Creations
- Preschool Chore Chart / Homeschool Creations
- Customizable Chore Charts / Chart Jungle
I do not have a chart – I do like the one you showed here. At our house, there are things my kids do because they live here and other things they can do for money. Some things, like making beds and picking up toys they do because they live here, they don’t get money, that is their contribution to the family – just like you said! Other chores can be for money but we’ve never set a specific amount – we discuss/negotiate that as we go! And sometimes, it is not for money but for TV/video game time or – particularly with my oldest – clothing or jewelry, etc. I love Dave Ramsey – he doesn’t call it an allowance, he calls it a commission: you do the work, you get the money – no “allowances” made for anyone! Didn’t mean to go on and on but I like your “family contributions” idea and thought you might like to know how we do it!
Thanks for sharing, Danise. I absolutely agree with you… there are things you do simply because you are a member of the family. Period. I like the word “commission” rather than allowance, too!
-Amy
I’m with Danise. Around our house we have the things you do to be a responsible member of the family and then the things you do to earn allowance.
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@Amanda, I mean “commission” LOL
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Amanda, I totally agree! The girls will not make any commission for making their beds, lol! Although, I sure wouldn’t mind getting paid to make beds! Ha!
We have the same charts!! I bought them about 6 months ago and use them with CHloe (3) and John (2). I love that they have such a variety so that the chart can grow and change along with the children.
I like the “contributions” rather than chores too. We don’t do any earnings yet but maybe in the next year too…
That’s great, Jenn! I’m glad to hear from someone who has had them longer than I have. It always helps to know that others love it even after having it awhile 🙂 I, too, am thrilled with the variety of “contributions” and how we can switch them in and out.
-Amy
I got this EXACT SAME ONE from Amazon {using my Swagbucks! :)} just prior to Christmas! It hasn’t been too helpful for me and my 3.5yo son because I need to implement it better. He does like to move the magnets around, and the way he does it (takes them from the top and puts them back down on bottom with the other smileys), it removes the smileys from the things he has done! Silly boy!
I call it “expectations” because the things on the chart are things I EXPECT him to do (or not do) or at least to work on. He hasn’t had any ‘compensation’ yet…..except for the occasional bribe. (“You do this and we can do that”….he likes to go feed the ducks and watch his Thomas movies!)
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