Many people wonder, “Do chores benefit children?” We say absolutely yes! Life will always be full of a never-ending “to-do list.” Chores are one area of life that is never-ending. So learning how to manage your time at a young age sets children up to be successful adults.
In this blog post (and video), I’m sharing the benefits of teaching chore time to children and how to manage them well. We plan morning chores for children and early evening chores, plus weekly homestead chores.
If you missed my posts on how I manage our home or teaching children to have a productive morning, be sure to check them out for more great household management ideas.
What Are the Benefits of Chores?
While so many great things come from doing chores, teaching them to children has five main benefits I love.
- A sense of accomplishment: In addition to getting work done, chores teach children a sense of accomplishment. Time spent cleaning their room allows them to enjoy that room while allowing for more creativity without the clutter.
- Teamwork: Chores need to get done no matter who does them. Mama and Papa can’t do it all and shouldn’t do it all. The workload should be spread out and shared appropriately. When chores are spread out, everyone benefits from a lighter load.
- Character: Chores teach character to children. It teaches them to do the same thing every day, even though they may not want to. Having to work through their feelings of not wanting to do chores helps build the character that will take them well into adulthood.
- Responsibility: Chores help give children a correct view of the world. If parents do all the chores for their kids while growing up at home, when they leave home they find out it is not like that in the real world. Learning to do chores at a young age teaches them responsibility and how to take care of themselves. Teach them now, so the transition into adulthood will be easier.
- Life Skills: Parents have an opportunity to teach skills that should be mastered before being an adult. You are giving them a gift by encouraging and requiring them to learn adult skills. Not only that, but as your children get older, the older siblings can begin teaching the younger siblings. This layers on another added benefit of leading by example and teaching.
How do You Manage Chores?
When managing chores, there is one primary key. This key is to let your household schedule manage the chores.
Before a Scheduled Event
This means that chores happen just before a scheduled event. This could be playtime, a mealtime, before heading out the door, etc. Children become very motivated when something else is on the line.
If you’re going to play, you will do your chores. If you want to eat, you will do your chores. No nagging will take place. This takes the pressure off of the parents.
To manage the chore system, simply arrange your schedule so that if your kids want to participate in the next activity (whether eating or playing), they must complete their assignments first.
Stay Consistent
Stay consistent. It may be hard to make sure chores are happening throughout the day, but keep at it. They will quickly learn that doing their chores leads them to participate in what they want to.
Yes, it’s difficult to make sure children are doing their chores well, but like I said in our top parenting principles, “You should never expect what you don’t inspect.”
Follow-through is key when it comes to getting your kids to do chores.
Check In
One part of the chores also includes checking in. Mom can ask questions to ensure it is done correctly; if not, finish, and then they can eat or participate in the next activity.
Make a List
In order to know what the children should be doing at each designated chore time, it’s important to write out a list. Sit down with a notebook and pen and list all things that need to be done in your home at the base level (this does not include deep cleaning).
It may be a long or short list, but at least you’ll know which chores will get done on a daily or weekly basis by parceling them out to each child throughout the day and week.
Then the house will run smoothly even if unexpected events come up.
So reflect on all the great benefits of teaching your children the importance of chores. Then arrange your schedule to manage the children and the chores, and don’t let the chores manage your schedule.
Then sit back and watch your children learn invaluable life skills as they mature into adults.
Household Management Masterclass
If you feel like you want to take your household management skills to the next level, consider joining my Household Management Class. In this masterclass, you’ll learn how to turn your household chaos into household peace.
It includes 17 full video lessons, my make-ahead breakfast casserole recipe eBook, and my household planning sheet printables. I’ll see you in class!
