The March issue of Focus on the Family offered this unique idea for sharing chores as a family. We thought it was well-worth the read.
"I wanted to motivate my children to help with the housework, so I decided to make a game of it. I wrote chores on index cards, one per card, and spread them upside down on the kitchen table. All chores were within my children's abilities, and none took more than three or four minutes to complete.
One chore card read, "Put old socks on your hands and dust living room furniture." I was careful not to include extensive chores like, "Vacuum the whole upstairs." I also included fun tasks, such as: "Sing a song to the baby"; "Set the timer for three minutes and draw a picture"; "Hug someone"; "Do a somersault"; "Ask Mommy for a treat." The children were eager to draw a card, do the chore and hurry back for another card in hopes of getting a fun assignment.
While my children "played" this game, I did the chores that required adult attention. When all the cards were done, we rewarded ourselves with homemade smoothies.
The next time I announced, "It's time to clean the house," my children asked, "Can we use the chore game?"
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