Managing a household is a tough task. Many stay-at-home-moms (and their spouses) think that the majority of the at-home duties are their responsibility because their “job” is to, well, stay at home. Well, I feel that everyone in the house should pitch in, especially the kids.
In our house, my husband pitches in by taking care of his own laundry every day. Partly because it’s how he can easily contribute and partly because his clothes are full of dirt, sweat and bugs from work and cycling. My daughter Charlotte has always been a pretty easy-going kid when it comes to helping out around the house, too. If she’s not consumed with the iPad or her My Little Pony collection, she usually helps out quite a bit.
When Charlotte was about three, we started a simple chore chart because we were battling with her on brushing her teeth, stay in bed, etc. The chore chart worked wonders but it eventually fizzled away because I never printed more charts. We rewarded her with stars. Once she filled the entire chart with stars, she was able to choose a surprise from the “surprise bucket.” The surprises were little toys that I found in the Target dollar aisle but she loved them!
#mommyfail
For kids a little bit older than three, though, there’s a much cooler way to keep on track with chores. I was recently introduced to a digital chore app called Chore Check and thought it was so neat that the entire family could connect to one chore chart and provide input such as rewards, allowance, chores and more. Check it out…
CHORE CHECK IN A NUTSHELL
Chore Check is a free app that your entire family can be on together, that manages all of your household chores. As Chore Check is currently an iOS app, parents/kids can access the app through their iPhones or through any mobile device via the web app that they’ve also created (i.e. Chore Check can essentially be used with anything that can use a web browser such as an iPad or computer—this is especially useful for young children that may not have access to a phone).
GETTING STARTED WITH CHORE CHECK
Once a parent creates an account, they can then add their kids and other family members to their “family tree”, essentially creating profiles for everyone to share this same account. Parents can assign chores, keep track of chores being done, reward their kids with an allowance or “prizes” as goals, and keep track of everything being earned. Kids can keep track of the chores that they do as well, their progress on goals or “prizes”, and keep track of their earnings.
Aside from the obvious function of managing your family’s household chores like washing dishes or checking the LeafFilter gutter guard, the real ideology and value behind Chore Check is a few other important things…
– For one, it’s a small way of connecting families on a day-to-day basis.
– Secondly, Chore Check can be a useful and motivational tool for kids to get their first kick-start into the world of responsibility, goal-setting, finance and money/time management.
OUR IN-APP EXPERIENCE
I always feel a little overwhelmed when I download a new app because it’s something new that I have to learn about, but ChoreCheck was pretty easy to use right off the bat. I downloaded the app and swiped through the four-page tutorial which pretty much covered everything. It took me about ten minutes of playing with the app to really get the hang of how to add chores and assign points/money to each one. I love how this app is easy on the eyes and easy to navigate. A huge pet-peeve of mine is finding a website or app that is super confusing and difficult to stare at for longer than two minutes.
Since Charlotte is only four and can’t read, she can’t use the app on her own, obviously. If the chores had an image or symbol next to them (i.e. a toothbrush or bed), she might be able to understand what each task was, but this app is definitely geared towards older kids that can read and navigate electronics well.
For us, using the app means that we have to sit with Charlotte and read the chores aloud. It’s actually a fun activity that we can do together and I’m confident that eventually she’ll start to understand the whole ‘pulling your own weight’ thing. Plus, when little sissy gets older, they can steal each others chores to earn extra money.
As I mentioned above, Chore Check is free, so I encourage you all to check it out on your phones, iPads or computers. You can visit www.chorecheck.com to learn more about the app, too.
