One thing most people can count on in life is that there’ll always be chores. Having a well-organized chore chart can be a massive help in organization, especially when kids are involved.
But is it just about the organization or are there more benefits to chore charts? And is there a way to make them better, cleaner, and more interactive? If you’ve been wondering about these things, BusyKid is the place to answer them.
What Is a Chore Chart?
Also known as a reward chart, chore calendar, behavior chart, or tasks list, whatever its name, a chore chart represents the same thing. It’s essentially a listing used to organize and keep track of housework.
A chore chart can be physical or virtual (more on that in a sec) and it’s often one of the most common ways to help children know what’s expected of them.
Kids, even as young as 18 months, can complete simple chores or tasks and help around the house.
When it comes to chores and chore charts, parents usually have two approaches: rewards or no rewards. While it’s up to every parent to decide for themselves, there’s research to suggest giving kids allowance for performing tasks can teach financial responsibility.
The Benefits of Doing Chores
Having your children’s help around the house is absolutely invaluable. But in addition to just helping you tick off mundane house tasks from the list, chores for kids have tons of benefits. Here’s what we mean.
Instilling a Work Ethic
Lots of kids only start working when they become teenagers or young adults and feel unprepared. Starting young by doing chores or even working easy jobs can instill in them a work ethic. It’ll also help teach them what’s expected of them in the real world.
What’s more, doing chores will help teach organization to kids, as well as the quality of work. And if they get paid for their work, they can learn how paychecks work and the value of money.
Teaching Time Management
Even though sometimes kids can get incredibly busy, they’re still seldom in charge of their own scheduling. Between their school commitments, extracurriculars, and sports activities, parents almost always run everything.
But with chores, kids will be able to make their own schedules, in the allotted time you’ve given them, of course. You can tell them they have a week to finish their chores or do them by a certain time of day. And if you want to incentivize them to complete their tasks on time, you can offer an allowance or compensation.
Learning the Value of Budgeting
If you’ve decided to pay your kids for the chores they’re doing, you’ll be allowing them to learn about the importance and value of budgeting. It’s a crucial life skill that they will truly need throughout their entire lives, and it might even help them avoid debt down the line.
Not only will chores help teach them about budgeting, but also the value of money and the cost of goods. So when they start entering adulthood, they’ll be well-equipped to overcome budgeting challenges.
Preparing for Adulthood
Another excellent byproduct of doing chores is teaching kids about the workforce and even entrepreneurship. Kids who start doing chores at an early age are able to acquire invaluable skills that they can later translate into their studying and work.
Instead of sitting at home gaming or watching TV for hours, kids might be encouraged to do work and earn an allowance. Nowadays, there are so many jobs for kids out there, and all most of them require is a bit of motivation.
Establishing Accountability
In life, all of us have to meet certain expectations set by our families, communities, or jobs. By having children or teens do chores, they’ll be able to learn about and work on accountability. When they have clear deadlines and objectives to meet, they’ll be able to better manage their workloads and understand responsibility.
The Benefits of a Chore Chart
Now that you know what chores are good for, let’s break down why and how charts work.
Keeps Things Organized
Rather than having to keep a mental list and give your kids verbal instructions every time you need something done, you can have a chore chart. Both physical and virtual charts, like the ones at BusyKid, help keep every task organized and show the proper timelines.
Not only can parents and kids keep track of the types of chores there are, but also what’s been done and what hasn’t.
Teaches Independence
As we mentioned earlier, kids often rely on their parents for scheduling, but a chore chart encourages action. With it, kids can take the initiative on their own, thus building independence. With your permission, children can also add or take away tasks from the list and establish a routine of their own.
Creates a Sense of Family Unity
One of the potentially best benefits of chore charts is that they teach kids about the family unit and working together as a team. Doing the dishes or picking up toys isn’t just for the parents anymore – kids can now participate. With a chore chart, children can see exactly how they’re contributing to their environment and making it better.
Makes Chores Seem More Fun
Let’s be honest – chores aren’t really fun, no matter how old you are. So if there’s something to make the tedious tasks seem more entertaining, like a chore chart, that’s surely a plus. Kids being able to interact with the chart will give them a sense of accomplishment and it will add excitement to the entire process.
Teaches Balance
Another great benefit of using a chore chart is that it’ll teach kids that there needs to be a balance between work and play. While kicking the ball or playing video games with friends is undoubtedly fun, there should also be a counterbalance. It’s a life lesson that your children will carry with them throughout their lives and prepare them better for real-world expectations.
Why You Should Get Rid of Your Paper Chore Chart
In a fast-paced, digital world, parents are ditching paper chore charts and replacing them with virtual ones. And for good reason, too.
Going Paperless
Making chore charts every week for the entire family, really adds up to a lot of paper. Going for a virtual chore chart and going paperless is not only environmentally conscious, but it’s also practical.
Kids Go Crazy for Technology
A digital chart might incentivize your kids to tick more things off their lists. Also, kids these days tend to be very tech-savvy early on in their lives, which is why they might respond better to the virtual world. By using platforms like BusyKid, children will be more organized and have more incentive to complete their tasks.
Saves Time
Making a new chore chart every week, even if you have a finished template, is exhausting and time-consuming. Filling out a chore chart constantly becomes a chore in and of itself, and one that is much better when skipped.
By choosing a virtual chart, you’ll be saving yourself time creating lists, and having to come up with tasks, and rewards.
Allows for Auto-Allowance
Thanks to BusyKid’s unique features and peer-to-peer financing, you no longer have to pay your kids for a job well done at the end of the week. Now, you can let the app do it for you, and allow your kids to start managing their own money. What’s more, if you’re struggling to assign monetary worth to these chores, you can let the BusyKid app do it all for you.
Chore Ideas
Depending on your children’s ages, skill sets, and affinities, there’s so much they can do in and around the house. Here are some ideas.
For Kindergartners
When it comes to younger kids, there’ll be a lot they might not be able to do, like mowing lawns and cooking meals. However, they can still be a great help around the house and do some age-appropriate chores.
For example, when they get up, kids can first make their beds in the morning. They can also help put away toys, pick up socks and clothes from their rooms, and leave them in the laundry. What’s more, children can feed pets, water plants, and pull weeds. For more suggestions, you can check out our list of chores for kindergartners.
For Teens
Teenagers can do pretty much anything the adults can around the house, so the chore options are almost endless. You can have your teens help you with the dishes, cook meals for the family, or do the laundry once a week.
They can also do work around the yard, including mowing lawns, tending to gardens, and watering plants. You can have them take care of pets, do the feeding, cleaning, walking, and so much more.
Why Choose BusyKid
If you want to make your life easier and make chores seem more fun, you need the BusyKid app. We provide a chore chart with suggestions for tasks and allowances based on your children’s ages. Of course, we also allow parents to customize the chart and make it their own.
But BusyKid is much more than just a chore chart. With our app, your kids will have access to real financial lessons and experiences. They can save, invest, and donate with the app. They can even have their own BusyKid Visa Debit Cards that eliminate the need of having on-hand cash.
So download the app now and make chores feel less like a chore!
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