Make Chores More Fun

Today an article on MSN caught my eye. It was entitled "How to make chores more fun for kids." My first thought was "I need to read this because all my kids do is complain and say I don't like to clean." Anything to make chores more fun is worth reading. The article listed 9 ways to Make Chores More Fun. They look like really good ideas and I am excited to try some of these ideas in my own home. Anyway here they are:

1. Hide treats, stickers, or pennies in, on or under knickknacks, then ask your child to dust. She gets the reward only when everything is dusted.
2. Post individual lists of chores kids can do (one for each child in your family). Whenever your child accomplishes a task, have her mark it with a sticker. Whoever has the most stickers at the end of the week gets the "Helper of the Week" award.
3. Play "Go Fish" with a basket of clean socks. Divide the socks among the players, leaving a pile to draw from. Each player, in turn, holds up a sock and asks another if he has the mate. If not, the asking player must take a sock from the top of the draw pile. When finished, the player with the most pairs wins.
4. Turn any socks that stay single into child-friendly dust mitts. Insert childs hand in dampened sock and use to remove dust from houseplants and furniture.
5. Have a scavenger hunt. Make a list of everyday items (newspapers, magazines, shoes, etc). Set a timer for 5 minutes, then have kids collect stray items throughout the house. The winner is the child who picks up the most (and returns to their rightful spots).
6. After dinner, do a "10-minute Tidy." Set a timer and have the family members scatter through the house putting away the clutter.
7. Appoint someone to be Inpector D. Clutter. Armed with a laundry basket and plastic police badge from the dress-up box, this person roams the house and puts stray belongings into clutter "jail" (the basket). To set an item free, its owner (Mom and Dad included) must do a chore.
8. Turn a bucket into a personalized cleaning caddy. Use permanent marker to write your childs name on it and have him decorate it with other drawings. Store supplies such as sponges, dustrag, and a roll of paper towels, etc.
9. Show them the money? Some experts believe allowance should be reserved for teenagers. School-aged children will easily get behind the idea that chores are something you do as a member of the family--not for money. They'll be excited just to show off their skill at completing a task.

There is also a website that you can go to to find age appropriate chores. You can link to that website by clicking here

I am so excited to try out some of these ideas. Hopefully I won't hear so much complaining when it comes to chores!