Being a parent is already a challenging task but motivating your children to actually do chores is probably one of the most difficult and troublesome things that you can face. Asking them to do various household chores is one of the common issues parents and children argue about, and it can get quite frustrating if it happens on a regular basis. If you think about it, children dislike household chores due to the same reasons adults avoid doing these: these types of chores and tasks are obviously boring and no one would really want to engage in such activities for hours. Another reason why your children dislike engaging in household chores is because they feel as if they are being prevented from doing the things they enjoy like playing with rocket copter toy in order to engage in an activity that is not fun or exciting.
In other countries like Spain, they are actually enforcing a law that requires the children to do their set of household chores since this is an issue parents from all over the world have to deal with. Although this law is not practiced in a lot of places including the United States, as a parent, you can definitely find new and innovative ways to get your children to do household chores without having to scold them to get up on their feet to help.

 

To make things a lot easier on your part, here are a few genius ways and ideas that you can utilize to actually motivate your little ones to help complete their short list of chores.  

Turn Chore Time into Play Time

Who says kitchen work has to be boring? Turn your usual kitchen chores into a fun dance party by playing a few tunes so that everyone can dance to the beat while making dinner or cleaning out the dishwasher. If you want your little ones to practice making a simple dinner for the family, appoint one of your children to be the chef while the other can be the DJ who chooses what music to include on the “fun chore time playlist”.  Other ways to promote play during chore time is by having your child role play their favorite scenes from their most enjoyed movies or cartoons, or by copying their favorite cartoon character or superhero while doing the laundry. This is one fun way to enjoy doing the laundry while simultaneously bringing out your children’s creative and artistic talents.  

Withhold the Connection

We cannot deny that in this day and age, our little ones are connected to the internet almost 24/7; they are digitally linked to everything, their games, and even their friends which is why your little ones spend most of their part staring at their smartphone’s screens or their PC and gaming consoles. One way to get your children to help with chores is by withholding the WiFi connection for the time being and only when they have finished their chores will they receive the password to this.  Not only will your children start helping out with the chores, but it will also discipline your children while also letting them know the importance of scheduling their activities.

 

Give them an Allowance

If you are financially able to provide your children with an allowance then you should definitely consider doing this; but remember, their allowance should also be connected to the list of chores that they need to complete. A simple way to do this is when your child occasionally needs to be reminded of their chores, minus a dollar from their allowance every time you have to remind them. This is one way for them to remember their given tasks and only when they remember will you stop removing a dollar from their allowance. Additionally, if your child still refuses to do their chores and their sibling does it instead, give a part of their allowance to the one who finishes the task. With this, you are not focused on the chore but working on the process of communication, as well as the motivation of your child instead.

Dice Em!

To make things fair for your children, have them roll dices that will help determine their task for the day; another dice would be for the reward or treat that they will receive when they complete the task. Children love playing games, so if you incorporate a game of chance to their tasks and responsibilities while also accompanying this with a reward system, they will definitely want to continue rolling the dice just to see what they will have to do next. However, just remember to occasionally change the tasks and rewards on the dice to make things more exciting as the day passes.

 

Generally speaking, your children may understand the importance of doing the dishes, cleaning up after themselves, and doing other chores as part of their role in your home; however, doing such things will not really make them feel significant nor give them a sense of fulfillment after. Chores are basically work and no one, including your little ones, really like working unless there is a reward for it. Also, if there is a reward, it should be something that your children like or appreciate so they will have more motivation when it comes to completing the tasks given to them.