I’m having a hard time getting my kids to pitch in with house chores without it becoming a struggle each time. They’re 6 and 9, and they have a knack for coming up with excuses to dodge their chores. I’ve experimented with charts and stickers, but they lose interest pretty quickly.
What strategies have you found helpful? I’m looking for some practical ideas that can make this a bit more enjoyable for everyone.
We started doing chores together as a team rather than having them work alone. My kids love when we all tackle the living room at the same time or when I’m folding laundry while they sort socks by color.
Turning things into games works well too. We’ll see who can put away toys the fastest or make it a treasure hunt where they have to find all the shoes that belong in the closet. Sometimes I set a timer for 10 minutes and we race to see how much we can get done.
What really helped was starting small. Just one simple task at first, then adding more as they got comfortable with the routine. Now they actually ask to help sometimes because it feels normal rather than like extra work.
Music really helps in our house. We play upbeat songs and everyone cleans together. Letting the kids choose their chores from a short list has also worked better than assigning tasks.
We’re trying something new where my 5 year old gets to be the “boss” of certain tasks. Like they tell me how to organize the toys or where the clean clothes should go. It makes them feel important.
Some days it works great and they’re excited to help. Other days they just want to play and I end up doing everything myself. I’m curious how you handle the off days when they’re just not interested?
Also wondering if anyone has tried making cleanup part of playtime? Like pretending the toys are going to sleep in their bins or something like that.
I went through a similar situation where getting my child to help felt more like a tug-of-war. What worked for us was introducing small rewards for completing chores, like choosing the next family movie. Allowing my child to pick which task to start with made a difference, too. We sometimes turn it into a race against the clock, which adds a fun twist. I totally understand that every kid is different, so this might not be a fit for everyone.