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Today, Kimi (another mom of four) is sharing her tips on how she has managed to have all of her kids EAGERLY helping with chores.  

A little girl sitting in a chair
Take it away, Kimi…
“I know what you’re thinking…I can barely get my kids to do their chores at all, let alone fast! But let me tell you, as a mom of  four kids ranging in ages from 9 up to 23, this really works!

Let me start by saying that all my kids do chores. Yes, my oldest is 23, but he lives here and is still my kid, so he does them, too. I look at it this way- we all make the messes! Between  the six of us and the pets the kids had to have- one dog, two cats, one hamster (minus one guinea pig, R.I.P. Pepper), everyone does their share of getting things dirty, so it’s only fair that everyone helps to clean up.

Here’s how I get my kids racing to do their chores, and get them done at lightning speed!

First, I make a list of all the chores that are to be done. I make sure everything is age appropriate so I only list things that all four kids are capable of doing, which because of the ages of my kids, is almost anything.

Next, I explain the rules. Even though they’ve done it before, a reminder never hurts and can hopefully avoid any “But that’s not fair!” discussions. Each child has the same amount of chores to complete based on how many on the list (If I list 12, that’s 3 each…you get the picture).

Then, the kids each choose their first chore. When I say “GO!”, they all head off to complete their well thought out choices, and when done, they come back and cross it off the list. Then and only then can they choose their next chore out of the remaining chores, when the first one is completely done. And this continues until each child completes their amount of chores and every chore is completed.

This prompts a race at my house every time we do chores. My kids rush around to get their stuff done because of course there are those chores that no one wants to do and that everyone is trying to avoid! Those are invariably the last ones left on the list.

By getting their chores done fast they get to choose the chores they’d like to have instead of being left with the ones they would rather not do. So if you have a child that tends to stall when it’s time to do chores, they’ll be left with the remaining chores the other kids didn’t want to do.

That’s it! Simple, yet oh so effective!

And while you might think this isn’t fair, I will argue that it most certainly is. There have been times where my three youngest outwork my 23 year old, simply because he’s taking his time getting around to things. So yup, he wound up with cleaning the bathroom that time.

How do you get your kids to do their chores fast, do you have any other ideas? Let us know in the comments!”
~Kimi 

MORE CHORE IDEAS YOU MIGHT LIKE: chores by age

Board with Chores Make them fun again!!
Kimi Clark is a career stay at home mom turned  blogger (for hire) and the Owner & Founder of The Mom Shopping Network. She dreams of spending her days at the beach surrounded by family, coffee, and chocolate…lots and lots of chocolate. Most days she settles for eating M&M’s while working from home in her PJ’s.

Hi there!

I’m Becky, a former elementary school teacher turned certified child development therapist and blogger. I work at home with my husband and together we are raising (and partially homeschooling) our four children in the Carolinas. I love diet coke, ice cream, and spending time with my family.

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4 Comments

  1. Oh my goodness!!! This is so clever! I only have one child but maybe I’ll try a way to incorporate this for me, the kid and my hubby. I SO love this!!!