If you’re anything like me, a busy mom trying to work from home and manage a beautiful family at the same time; then you feel my pain when it comes to house chores.

When my children were literally toddlers I found myself stressing out trying to complete daily chores by myself. It wasn’t until I realized that a lot of the daily chores that I was completing could have been done with the help of my children. Therefore, my children all have been taught the importance of house chores and how to keep our living space free from clutter.

Trust me, I still have to give them daily reminders however, it’s something that I’ve done ever since they were literally babies. I would encourage them to pick up their toys and to put some back some before pulling out more. This subtle thing has truly shaped their way of completing chores.

What I Realized

In raising children, it is so much easier to instill values in them when they are younger. Basically, it is much easier to teach children what you expect from them from day one. I have met moms who do not encourage their children to clean up after themselves until it’s too late. Then these moms start complaining because their children are lazy and don’t help clean around the house.

Whereas in my case, my children have literally begun cleaning when they were toddlers. I would require them to clean up their own space. Trust me, it wasn’t some kind of a hard chore. But rather, proper etiquette. I teach my children that cleanliness is the next thing to Godliness. It is absolutely the most important thing we do is to keep our home clean.

How I Implemented Daily Chores

I would first require my children to clean up their toys. If they pulled down a bunch of toys, I would remind them that they have to start cleaning up. I would typically get them a countdown 30 minutes before the next activity. I noticed that this help them understand the concept of time management. For example, once I started giving them a time limit they would start putting toys away little by little. If they had 10 toys out at one time once I gave them in the countdown, they typically started putting 2 to 3 toys away and played with fewer at a time.

As they got older, I started telling them they had to make their beds. and literally, from there I started adding on their daily chores from that moment. Now it doesn’t feel like chores to them. It truly feels like a way of life. It’s something that they just have to do.

Giving Allowance for Daily Chores

My children do get an allowance for doing their chores at the end of the week however, not every week they get a monetary allowance. I explain to my children that the daily chores that they are completing are their responsibility. For instance, when my children tidy up their room they don’t get a special allowance for that. The reason is that their room is their own responsibility. It is their own contribution to our family.

They do however earn an allowance for doing house chores throughout our home. Cleaning the bathroom, taking out the garbage, loading, and unloading the dishwasher. These are more of the collaborative house chores that earn allowance in our home. Other things include cleaning the yard and picking up outside trash and debris. We typically give an allowance when the task is above and beyond our expectations.

Our overall goal is to raise self-sufficient children who are not afraid of domestic work. Therefore, even in doing collaborative daily house chores, there are times that they would not earn any allowance.

Not because they didn’t do an awesome job but because I don’t want to associate their contribution to completing house chores to rewards only. I have witnessed times when children would only clean because of the reward.

Therefore, we want to ensure that our children truly understand the importance of daily house chores and teamwork.

Top Tips for Implementing Daily House Chores

• Start As Soon As Possible: Don’t make a mistake like many moms do by thinking that your child is too small to start completing their contribution to the home. Start their daily chores with their toys. Typically children play with their toys daily, and like many of them, they make a mess with the toys. I encourage you to use that as a learning opportunity to teach your children how to start cleaning up after themselves.
  
• Practice daily cleaning regiments: Begin having your children help out around the house daily. If you’re doing laundry, invite your children into your space and teach them how to start sorting the clothes. Teach them how to fold the clothes. If you’re in the kitchen and your cleaning invite your children into your space and teach them how to wipe down the countertops or the appliances. Cleaning your home is not a chore but a way of life. Change the way you introduce chores to your children. Remember, it’s all about presentation and the way you introduce chores to your children.

• Don’t Ask Your Children To Help Clean: I hear many moms complain that they asked their children to clean and their children just wouldn’t do it. There’s the problem right there. Never ask, “can you please do this.”
• When you do this you’re asking for their permission. This is a problem because children then have the choice to be disobedient. But rather instruct them on what you expect and what you need. For example, children want to know that they are needed.
• Therefore, I would typically say to my daughter, “I need you to please put the dishes away, thank you.” In that simple sentence, I was able to convey to her that she is needed giving her a sense of belonging and allowing her to then participate as a team player.

• Be Consistent: Truly develop a schedule where you can implement daily house chores for your children. Make them feel a sense of belonging by contributing to their home’s cleanliness. Download my free chore chart in this post!
  
• Remember that your children are never too young to start learning how to contribute to their home’s cleanliness. That’s the biggest misconception of it all.

• Children are human beings and they are in the makings of becoming adults. Think about that when you are teaching your children. Your children won’t be children forever. You definitely want to make sure that you are instilling the proper mechanics and values into your children that will last a legacy.

Honestly speaking, there are too many children who are lazy. Nowadays children do not want to work at all.

It is my strongest belief that there is a correlation between lazy children and children who do not have responsibilities. Don’t fall prey to raising children who are lazy. Teach your children right away the importance of teamwork by completing daily house chores.

If you are looking for ways to get your children to be more active around the house in helping you maintain a clean home please let me know your comments below.

If I have left anything out please let me know. As I come up with new savvy ways of getting my children to become more self-sufficient I will share an update this pose. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to share this Pin!