Review: “Kids, Chores & More” (Getting kids to do their chores.)

Getting kids to do their chores is a struggle many parents face. We’ve been up and down with this struggle ourselves, going through good phases and bad phases as things change and grow. Every parent wants to teach their child to be responsible and have a good work ethic but many simply just don’t know where to start.

Judy Helm Wright of Artichoke Press is a mother of six and an author of more than 20 books including “Kids, Chores & More: How to Get Your Kids to Help at Home“– a detailed but approachable ebook about doing less for your children to spend more time with them.

Among the great information inside this book you’ll find lists of age appropriate chores, and also little insights to the hearts and minds of kids for each age. I was able to see my own kids in these descriptions but realized that I’d never really sat down and thought about these things. Taking the emotional place of your child into consideration, however, will help you have realistic expectations for them.

“When it comes to the household responsibilities, it is important that you examine your heart and make sure that you are doing your fair share in the household but that you are not bearing more than your share of the burden.”

The above quote from “Kids, Chores & More” (in the middle of the section about pre-teens putting more stock into what you do over what you say,) really hit me right between the eyes. I know this is certainly one area I can improve! I need to do a little bit of improving on both of those– there are some things I don’t delegate and there are other things I always delegate. I need to have a better balance and set a better example while asking my kids to do their chores, too.

Judy offers a list of rewards to motivate your kids to do their chores, along with the advice, “However, you need to know each individual child. What motivates one child to action will not necessarily even excite another.” My three very different children are proof that this is true! I particularly like her list of suggestions for “parental time” since this is a reward I’ve been seeking to increase (over other physical and monetary rewards.)

In addition to rewards, Judy provides a list of 50 suggestions for how to make chores more fun and entertaining for kids. We’ve used a few of these ourselves but most of these are new suggestions that we can use to “spice up” clean up time.

Time saving tips, organizational ideas, positive reinforcement.. these are just a few more things you’ll find in “Kids, Chores & More.” As a book that you can easily read in an afternoon, the book is amazingly packed with practical tips and information. I suggest that you either print off a copy to make notes on or keep a pen and paper handy as you read.

Here’s a few of the things I took note of for our household:

• adding small trashcans throughout the house (so, as Judy says, there is no excuse for dropping a Kleenex on the floor.)
• sometimes giving the kids a choice: “would you rather do this or this?” to give them some control but still requiring them to do a chore
• using more “when/then” teaching — “when the table is cleared off then you can play a board game or water paint at the table” to build natural rewards and reinforcements

Other great points about this book besides what I’ve already mentioned:

• Easy to read
• Chock full of practical tips
• Tell you how to implement weekly “family council” meeting
• Promotes family unity
• Places reasonable expectations on children, doesn’t over or underestimate their abilities
• Promotes responsibility and a job well done (for both parents and children!)

I found “Kids, Chores & More” both enjoyable and helpful and I know you’ll find it the same.

I’ll be giving away a copy of this book for the Mommy Time Facebook party next week. Check back then for a chance to win your own copy. In the meantime, check out Artichoke Press.

{I received a free copy of Kids, Chores & More to review but all opinions are my own.}

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