Deciding What to Pay for Chores
February 13th, 2013 - Category: Charts
You know that kids are more likely to do their chores, do them better, and do them faster if they get a reward at the end. But how do you figure out what dollar amount to attach to each chore? Everyone has specific situations, but here’s an idea for a place to start.
For some reason, it is easier as adults to figure out how much a person should get paid per hour, and harder to figure out how much you should pay someone to clean out the sink. So, lets figure out how much your child should get paid per hour. Yep an hour. That doesn’t mean they will be working for an hour. But if they were, how much would you pay them for an hours worth of work?
This number is usually most dependant on their age. For example, you may give your 12 year old $6 per hour, and only give $3 per hour to your 6 year old. But other things may come into play here, like how mature they are, or how much you make an hour.
Now, take their hourly wage and divide it by sixty to see how much your child should make per minute. So, If you are paying your 12 year old $6 per hour, that would be 10 cents for each minute of work. This is their minute wage.
Next, we are going to start figuring out how much time it takes to do each chore. Watch your children do their chores for a week or two and keep track of how long it takes to do certain tasks, down to the minute.
Lastly, multiply the number of minutes it takes for them to finish a job, by their minute wage, and you have your job pay rate.
So, if I’m paying my 12 year old $6 per hour, or 10 cents per minute, and it takes him 3 minutes to clean a window, he would get 30 cents to clean the window. Or if it takes him 5 minutes to clean the sliding glass door, that would be worth 50 cents, and so forth.
Be sure to update your “hourly” rate as their ages increase and check in on your job pay rates every now and then to make sure that they are fair. As your children get older they will be able to finish their chores faster so, your time table and job pay rates need to be adjusted accordingly.
MyJobChart.com makes it easy to reward your children for doing their chores. And never fear if you set up a chore with a reward that is way too easy or just the opposite, never going to get done. With just a click of a button, you can change the reward that each job is worth and keep things fair and on track.
Leave a comment and let us know how you decide what to pay for chores.
The Benefits of Online Chore Charts
January 22nd, 2013 - Category: Charts
How do you keep track of chores at your house? Do you have a paper that you have to print out every week with updates and changes? Or maybe it is a big poster on the wall with magnets or clothespins or word strips that get lost under the couch? Maybe it’s one with stickers, and the stickers always get pulled off or you forget to go buy more? Here’s another one, maybe it’s in chalk or dry erase board, and every time you walk by you have to fix the scuff that someone accidently wiped off? How many hours have you spent just making and managing your chore charts?
If you’ve always had a hard time sticking with a system, there is a better solution. Have you ever considered an online chore chart? Think about it. In our fast paced, instant gratification, tech savvy world, how better to get your children to be motivated about doing their chores?
Build and Manage With Ease
No more hours spent finding all of those pictures to put on your chart or using rulers to make the tables just right. No need to change the whole format of your chart just to add another job. MyJobChart.com makes it easy to build and manage your child’s chores online. Sometimes it’s just a matter of communicating exactly what you expect to your children, and we make that easy. With the touch of a button you can add specific and general chores. You can also set up personal hygiene objectives, homework and reading desires, and even behavior goals.
Simple to Keep Track Of
Keep track of completed jobs, points earned, savings, gifts, and rewards. And there’s no need to feel tied to the computer to make it happen. MyJobChart.com can even send you an email or a text when your child’s chores are complete or when they have cashed in their points.
Easy Follow Through
I don’t know how many times our previous systems didn’t work because as the parent, I had a hard time following through with the payment. Either I didn’t have enough time to get the change I needed to pay everyone, or we didn’t keep good enough track of what each child had saved over time. Well, with MyJobChart.com, each child can keep their savings in their own bank account, and when they make purchases online, a text will be sent to you so you know how much money was taken out of your bank account. There couldn’t be anything simpler. No more counting quarters!
If you need a new chore chart, why not give us a try? We’ll take the chore out of your chore charts and get you back in control of your home management.
My Job Chart offering Free Online Chore Chart with Bonus
February 21st, 2012 - Category: Charts
“MyJobChart.com, an online chore chart was designed to teach young people the concept of responsibility, work ethic and the value of money by giving them a way to earn points for completing their chores and extra jobs.
The free site has always offered a way for young users to ‘spend’ their points on rewards they want, ‘share’ what they earn with a chosen charity, or to ‘save’ for the future.”
Kids are able to experience the tremendous rewards of earning money for themselves and then of accumulating that money and saving for the future. As they do this they will get a $20 bonus into each child’s account just for signing up.
My Job Chart is easy of use and the high-tech approach have made MyJobChart.com a hit with more than 130,000 kids in just over a year since its inception.
Jennifer Cross, of Fort Worth, Texas, says she was hooked on the free My Job Chart site from the start. Using it with her three children, she has been pleased with the site’s educational aspect.
I’m a high school teacher and a lot of kids have everything done for them. Parents are not taking the opportunity to teach their kids about work and responsibility,” she said.
She says her children have responded well to the intrinsic rewards and immediate feedback the site offers. She especially enjoys watching them learn to “save” and now that she has ING Direct savings accounts for all of her kids it’s easier than ever to accomplish that.
“Now they like to work and they come to me asking what other chores they can do,” Cross said.
How MyJobChart.com Works! from Gregg Murset on Vimeo.
Individual Versus Group Chore Charts
December 14th, 2011 - Category: Charts
If you ask us, there are a million reasons to love My Job Chart. But perhaps one of the most overlooked features is the individual login. You see, by putting your job chart online, your child must use their special login information to access their chart, rewards, and progress. And that means you can make a job chart as specialized as you need to.
When your job chart is slapped up on the fridge, it becomes the business of the entire family. Everyone knows who is assigned what chores, whether they’ve completed them, and what rewards are being offered.
But perhaps you want to create chore charts that are just between you and each individual child. Maybe you would like:
To reward your children separately – older children have more needs. That’s the thick and the thin of it. As your children grow, they get more involved with friends, school, and sports or lessons. If you expect your child to help pay for those other activities, you’ve got to provide a way for them to help. Increasing their rewards is the most natural step to take. But do you really want to explain that to the younger kids?
To be the parent – how well your child is completing their chores should be between you and them. Not between you, them, and the other children who would like to tell you how poorly their sibling completed their task. If chore charts are kept individually, you have insight to the progress your child is charting and can help them decide if and when a chore should really be marked complete.
To help those that are struggling – none of your children are going to have the same skill level or comprehension level. But everyone can help. If you have a child that suffers with an attention deficit or who may not have matured physically as fast as their siblings, you can assign them chores that fit them. And avoid your other children hollering about things not being fair.
To give each child more responsibility – when only you and your child know what chores they are to complete, it’s up to them to get it done. Far too often parents wrap rewards into a collective effort (ie, once everyone’s chores are done then we’ll go out for ice cream). That kind of behavior will help your family encourage each other. But sometimes, your child learns more when they are in charge of themselves.
On the other hand, if you’ve found a group effort of getting chores done works best, then you can work that out with your online chore chart as well. It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish as a parent. But at least with a tool as powerful as Myjobchart.com, you have the option. Chore charts on the refrigerator don’t offer much choice.
Making Chore Charts Fair
November 30th, 2011 - Category: Charts
Life isn’t fair. It’s the lesson you’ve been trying to get your kids to understand for years. But no matter how many times you say it, your children will still expect fairness. It’s almost a disease among young kids – to expect the world to deal with everyone equally.
However, as a parent, you probably do want things to be as fair as possible for your kids. You’d hate to have your children feel they’re getting the short end of the stick. You want them to feel like home is a safe and welcoming place to be.
Now on to the difficult topics. No child really wants to do chores. They only do chores to earn their allowance (or avoid getting in trouble). Even knowing there will always be chores, your child will complain at times. And the last thing you want to hear from your child is: those chores aren’t fair. So here are some ideas to make sure chores stay fair and your children don’t have that excuse to stand on.
Don’t ask them to do anything personal. A friend of mine grew up with the following chores on her chore chart: clean master bathroom, vacuum office, wash and fold all the laundry. In other words, this friend was expected to clean up after her parents. The parents reasoned that they worked all day so the children could surely take care of these additional chores. My friend always resented cleaning up after the “adults”.
Reward them for their efforts. If it’s on the chore chart, then make sure your children are rewarded for it in some way. If you have chores on the chore chart that don’t help the child in some way, reconsider it. Having your children do chores for “free” (unless it’s cleaning their room or doing something similarly personal) is not fair.
Switch things up. If you have more than one child, you’ve got to switch the chores around. Otherwise, you’re going to hear phrases like, “I always have to wash the toilets. It’s not fair.” And that’s true. Unless your children share all the chores, someone will always get stuck with a more difficult lot.
Chip in when things are exceptionally different. After a big event (like Thanksgiving dinner), you need to take kitchen clean-up off the chore chart. That’s simply not fair to the child whose turn it is to keep the kitchen clean. The same idea holds for mowing the lawn after being on vacation for two weeks or doing chores while you have guests in town. Chores should be adjusted according to the circumstances in your house. And chip in when you need to.
If only the world were fair, you wouldn’t even have to create a chore chart. Your children would simply do what needed to be done. But until your children are grown, fairness has to be according to their terms. If you want your home to run smoothly, you need to keep your chore chart as fair as possible.
What’s Your Job Chart Motivation?
September 19th, 2011 - Category: Charts
The kids are back in school. And if you’re like most parents, that means time to re-evaluate everything from schedules, to extra-curricular activities, to job charts. What worked during the summer is certainly not going to work now. But, as you spend time reviewing your children’s chore chart, take a minute to decide what your motivation is. That will help you determine what chores to put on the list, and which to leave off.
For some parents, kids’ schedules are already so hectic, they’d rather spend an extra hour a day with their kids rather than giving their kids more chores to do. For other families, parents struggle to manage the house on their own. They need their children to take on extra responsibilities.
Everyone’s situation is different. But once you’ve determined your motivation – what you need accomplished – you’ll be able to create a job chart that works well for your family. But here are a few words of warning:
If your motivation is spending more time with your kids…try to avoid going too light on the chores. Taking out the trash, though important, is not enough to teach your child to be responsible. Half an hour of chores each day should still leave you plenty of time together.
If your motivation is keeping the house well cared for…try to avoid overwhelming your children. If there are too many things on the to-do list, your children may develop a Cinderella complex. Be fair. Let them help you. But remember that they are still children. They need time for homework and play.
If your motivation is to teach them responsibility…you might want to add a few challenging chores. Again, don’t overwhelm them with work, but a single task that requires some effort (like making dinner) should be your starting point on your chore chart.
If your motivation is to teach them financial responsibility…consider assigning chores with varying rewards. For example, mowing the lawn might be worth 20 points whereas taking out the trash is worth two. Then, let your children pick and choose which of their assigned chores to do and when. This will help them learn to manage their time. Just be sure you have some way of getting all the chores completed.
Here’s one more parting thought…share your motivation with your family. Let your children know why you selected the chores you did. Let them know what you expect them to achieve and why. Children are often more helpful when they understand why they are being asked to help. Then, when situations come up later (and they always come up), you can simply remind your child why their contribution is so important to your family.
Creating a chore chart is never easy. You’ve got to determine who does what, when, and what their compensation will be. It takes a lot of effort. But if you create a chore chart based on something concrete, your task will be much easier.
Are You Resistant to an Online Chore Chart?
August 23rd, 2011 - Category: Charts
Over the weekend, I was surprised to see a Facebook friend of mine post this statement: Just completed what seems like the millionth chore chart/program for my children. I think the greatest accomplishment of my life will be finding a way of instilling them with a work ethic that WORKS!
Why was I surprised? Well, for a few reasons. 1) I obviously haven’t spread the word about MyJobChart.com far enough. 2) Lots of people are still trying to create their own chore charts and struggling to get their kids to follow them.
So this blog post is to serve two purposes. The first is to tell people who have not tried MyJobChart.com to at least give it a chance. You may be surprised at how eager your children are to give this one a shoot. And you’ll love how easily it works…so you can focus on other things.
The second purpose is to discuss the objections parents or kids might have to using an only chore chart:
What if we don’t get on the computer very often? Okay, so many families don’t spend a whole lot of time on the computer. But let me ask you this? Do you check your email? At least on a daily basis? Of course you do. With MyJobChart.com, all your children need is just a few minutes to login and update their chores for the day. Our experience has been that a children enjoy logging in to their own account much more than the paper or chart systems being used right now. Once they get used to it, they’ll have no problem keeping their information updated.
What if my kids are too young to use the computer? If your children are really little, then yes, you may need to rethink your chore chart system. But I’ve known 18 month olds that know how to unlock iPhones and open up their favorite apps. There is no risk for trying MyJobChart.com. It’s a free account. Teach your child how to use it, and if they can’t pick up the process, then you could try something else.
What if I don’t want to spend the time looking up my child’s progress? I’d rather just look at the refrigerator. Here’s the thing…although you may save time by having a print out or chore chart form on the fridge, you’re probably going to spend hours creating your chore charts, calculating allowance, etc. MyJobChart.com let’s you make changes any time you want to and will do all your calculations for you. And hey, if you need a visual update on the fridge, then print off your chore chart and have your children mark both places when they finish their chores.
For every parent, getting your kids to complete and track their chores can be a real nightmare. But with MyJobChart.com, you get all the benefits of something that is fast, fun to use, and easy to adapt if you need it.
The next time I see a Facebook post from one of my friends, I hope it says something like: Using MyJobChart.com to keep the family moving forward. It’s working great.
Over the weekend, I was surprised to see a Facebook friend of mine post this statement:
What if my kids are too young to use the computer? If your children are really little, then yes, you may need to rethink your chore chart system. But I’ve known 18 month olds that know how to unlock iPhones and open up their favorite apps. There is no risk for trying MyJobChart.com. It’s a free account. Teach your child how to use it, and if they can’t pick up the process, then you could try something else.
What if I don’t want to spend the time looking up my child’s progress? I’d rather just look at the refrigerator. Here’s the thing…although you may save time by having a print out or chore chart form on the fridge, you’re probably going to spend hours creating your chore charts, calculating allowance, etc. MyJobChart.com let’s you make changes any time you want to and will do all your calculations for you. And hey, if you need a visual update on the fridge, then print off your chore chart and have your children mark both places when they finish their chores.
For every parent, getting your kids to complete and track their chores can be a real nightmare. But with MyJobChart.com, you get all the benefits of something that is fast, fun to use, and easy to adapt if you need it.
The next time I see a Facebook post from one of my friends, I hope it says something like: Using MyJobChart.com to keep the family moving forward. It’s working great.
Can You Add Excitement to Chore Charts?
June 14th, 2011 - Category: Charts
It would be so nice if our children woke up every morning eager to do their chores. What if they looked forward to responsibility the same way they look forward to Christmas or a trip to Disneyland? Okay, that would be a little bit weird. But it would be fun if children looked at their chore list with – if not enthusiasm – a lack of whining.
But how do you do that?
We’ve never tried this ourselves, but in an effort to bring fun and creative ideas to you, we came up with these ideas. How to make the chore chart more enjoyable. Yes, enjoyable. Here are the thoughts we came up with:
Give them creative freedom. Children need to feel needed. And they need to feel appreciated. What if you were to give the responsibility of repainting a room or refinishing a coffee table to your child? Of course, they need to be old enough to accept the task. But it’s their home, too. Why not give them a chore they have complete say about? You want that table refinished anyway, right?
Give them a chore to plan a family activity. You know how much work goes into planning anything. Why not invite your child to take the initiative. Imagine how much fun they’ll have when they look at a chore chart and read, “pack for a weekend camping trip” on the top of their list.
Make the chore itself enjoyable. Let’s say you’ve assigned a child to clean the closet or fold the laundry. Then, before they’ve had a chance to complete their chore, you leave them a little surprise – like a bag of candy or a new game they’ve been wanting. They do their chores because they are asked or because they get an allowance, but there’s nothing stopping you from using it to show how much you love them.
Give them a chore that isn’t a chore. If it’s been a while since you spent quality time with your child, write “date with mom or date” in place of vacuuming or sweeping. It’s a great way to give your children a break while building your relationship with them. Of course, you’ll want to hold them to it. Get them to really go on that date with you. Otherwise, there was no point in exchanging the chore for quality time.
Team up with the neighbor. Kids always enjoy doing things with their friends. And it’s just possible that doing chores with friends would make them easier to complete. Team up with the parents of a neighbor kids and decide how the two children can work together to get a job done. Maybe this week they can paint your fence and next week they can till the ground for the neighbor’s garden. But have them do it together. The work with go faster and will be more exciting.
As a parent, and a child at one point, you know that the biggest complaint in cleaning and maintaining a house is that it always has to be done. There is never any end in sight. It’s mundane and boring. So why not use a little bit of creativity and shake things up a bit. It may improve the way your children (and even you) feel about completing their chores.
And, if you’re looking for a way to manage chores, be sure to check out MyJobChart.com if you haven’t already. And let us know if you have tried or have any ideas for making chore charts more exciting by posting in the comments below.
How to Create an Age-Appropriate Chore Chart
January 31st, 2011 - Category: Charts
You wouldn’t put a 5-year old behind a lawn-mower. And cleaning their room should be something your older children do without being asked. But when putting a chore chart together, determining the right jobs can be a challenge. Especially if you reward your children for the jobs they do.
So how do you create an age-appropriate chore chart that your whole family will benefit from? Well, as you create your chore chart, there are two important questions to consider:
Is my child old enough to safely and effectively complete this chore?
Is this chore challenging enough to teach my child responsibility?
Safe and Effective
Because each child varies in maturity level and because boys and girls will develop different skills at different stages…it’s impossible to pinpoint when a child is old enough to wash the dishes, fold the laundry, or cook a meal.
So start out slowly.
One place to begin is with the child’s own possessions. Even a toddler can learn to put their toys away. Young children should be taught clean up their toys, put away their cloths, and feed any pets that may belong to them. Chore charts with pictures and stickers can be used to help track their progress.
As they master their own things, you can next move to risk-free, household tasks. For example, watering the plants is a suitable next step because spilled water won’t hurt anything.
Assigning risk-free chores may take some patience. Sweeping and dusting are risk-free tasks, but the first dozen times your child dusts, you can bet they’ll miss spots. Be willing to spend some time by their side as they learn to effectively clean bathrooms, dust shelves, and sort laundry.
Once you think they’re ready for more demanding chores, frequently test your child’s level of strength, attentiveness, and responsibility. Let your 9 year-old son take a quick turn with the lawnmower under your supervision. If he seems capable, let him try again. If not, wait another year and then make a second attempt. Your 7 year-old daughter may be anxious to help in the kitchen. Try allowing her to make sandwiches, have her crack eggs as you bake, and let her stir the big pot on the stove. Accidents or near accidents may be a sign that she’s not yet ready to be left alone with hot appliances.
By watching your child’s progress carefully, you’ll be able to gage when they’re ready for something new.
But as a word of caution…pushing a child to complete certain chores before they are ready can be dangerous, discouraging, and may leave you with work that needs to be redone. And you’ll be wondering why you even have a chore chart.
Having your children complete chores can certainly take a weight off your already busy schedule. But the benefits of a chore chart far exceed the help you’re receiving. By teaching your children to complete chores, you are preparing them for their future. A son or daughter whose only responsibility growing up is to take out the trash is going to experience a rude awakening when they leave home for the first time.
Learn to challenge your children. Hold them accountable for the work they do. What you’ll find is that most youth thrive on responsibility. Sure, they’re going to whine and complain about having to work, but they’ll feel a greater sense of self-worth as you provide them with opportunities to prove their competence.
If a chore chart is too easy, your children may see it as a nuisance. Let your children see the value they provide in your home by giving them chores they alone can be responsible for. And then reward them accordingly.
More than likely, it’s going to take some time to find that happy balance between pushing your children to do more and making sure the work is done safely and effectively. But keep communication open. Ask your children how they feel and what chores they would like to try. And soon your house will be running smoothly.
Ideas for Kids Chore Chart Rewards
June 23rd, 2010 - Category: Charts
In our post featuring Jeannie Cullip and some different chore ideas, I meant to also add some ideas for chore rewards. I wanted to offer some ideas on different ways or things you can do to reward your children for doing their chores. However, in an effort to keep things short and concise, I slashed that part in the last post and decided to write a completely new one all about rewards. So, now that you’ve got some good ideas for different chores, let’s throw some thoughts around about compensation.
Everyone loves to be rewarded for their work, especially kids. Children are in constant need of encouragement and re-assurance. One way we can give them both of these is by rewarding them for good behavior. When kids finish the chores, parents should always praise and reward. This let’s them know that you are happy with their accomplishment and they will want to continue to do chores to please you and to receive praise.
This is why My Job Chart’s chore reward system is so great! When your child’s points add up, they can redeem them for rewards that you set up with them. The points are added up automatically and you, as the parent, are notified as soon as the chores are finished and when your child wants to redeem a reward for their accumulated points.
So let’s talk about some different rewards that you can offer. Just like the chore ideas post, we’ll break them down into age categories.
Reward Ideas for Children 4-7
- trip to the park
- trip to Chucky Cheese
- new barbie/doll
- new pair of shoes
- trip to the local pool
- ice cream trip (DQ, coldstone, yogurtland…etc)
- get a candy at the store
- make cookies
Reward Ideas for Children 8-10
- go to a movie at the theatre
- curfew extension
- video game time extension
- new game for Play Station, Wii, Xbox
- pick a rental movie/blueray at Blockbuster
- trip to the zoo
- trip to Sunsplash or nearby water park
Reward Ideas for Children 11-14
- sleep over party with 2 or 3 friends
- trip to the mall with friends
- money (who doesn’t want a little cash?)
- tickets to a concert
- pedicure/manicure
- snowboarding trip
- new make-up
- lotion
- nail polish
Family Reward Ideas for All Ages
- take a family hike
- bike ride
- walk
- roller blading
- trip to visit cousins
- sleep over at grandmas
- have dinner somewhere fun and entertaining like Joe’s Crab Shack
- family trip to disneyland
- knottsdberry farms,
- 6 flags
- sea world
- the beach
These are just a few of the countless ways in which you can reward your children for their accomplishments and completing their chore chart tasks. So parents, when the points add up, don’t forget to pay up! What are some ideas that you’ve had for compensating your children for the hard work they’ve done?