How many moms would agree doing chores is always a challenge? Over the years we have evolved on how we divide chores in our home and try to get everyone involved. Let’s face it, we can never have children excited to do chores unless there’s something in it for them.
Moms, we are always tempted to do everything as we want it to be well done, and as fast as possible. But by doing this, our children will never learn, and we will end up burning ourselves up.

I remember when our kids were young, I had installed a points system whereby for each task the children did, they would earn points and whoever had the most points at the end of the week got to pick a family activity for that week (could be the movies, restaurant amusement park etc..). This evolved as there was a lot of tracking to do which meant more work for me. We went on to me paying the kids cash in the form of allowances, for the chores done and they would put it in their piggy banks. I think this was the most popular one as they were soon fighting for chores. Through this, there were hardly any dirty dishes, in the sink or toys lying around and mama was happy.

My husband talked to me and showed me how this is a bad idea. We were basically instilling in our children that everything they do has to be rewarded. He pointed out that this is their home, and they need to participate. I thanked God for his Godly wisdom, so we ended up plain and simple; every child had a day to do the dishes and clean the bathroom. This included mom and dad, and the week ends everyone had specific tasks such as vacuuming, dusting. …etc
This has proved to be very effective and has offered a break to everyone when it’s your day off for chores. It also made us have more quality time as no one is overworked and dead tired due to work being equally shared.

In the Bible in II Thessalonians 3:10 the Bible says, “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat”.
Doing chores is a good way of teaching our children the essence of work. Parents leave the house every morning to go to work so that they can put bread on the table and when children are doing the chores (work) it’s their participation in the home.
This teaches children to be responsible especially when mom or dad puts them in charge of a specific task, and expects it to be well done; same principle as if you were at a job.
Doing chores teaches children also a sense of organisation which is a quality that most employers seek. In the end it also gives them a sense of belonging and accomplishment.

I know sometimes it may feel as if it’s a lost cause, repeating the same instructions over and over but the benefits are worth every effort. In our case we are now reaping the rewards. My second daughter has quickly learnt how to cook and it’s usually a pleasant surprise when sometimes I come back from work tired and thinking what will I make for supper, only to open the door to a delicious smell of a cooked meal that she prepared proactively. Our son who started working a couple of months ago, was telling me how he is applying the principles we teach then at home through chores. He says he could always hear my voice telling him that he has to make sure his work is of quality as it is his signature; I often tell them your work tells a lot about a person.

I don’t know what works in your home, but please do share with us your tips to getting around chores. For us this is what has kind of brought a little sanity to our home and a breather for everyone…at least for now.