I have a confession to make. I am a complete failure at getting my kids to do chores. When it comes to delegation I am much better as a manager than I am as a mother. As the kids have gotten older their messes have gotten bigger. I’ve reached a point where I either need to say “screw it. I will just hope that we end up on Hoarders” or “fine, I will beat you into submission”.
And don’t bring up “chore charts” with stickers. I’ve tried that and inevitably Lucy does all her chores, Max’s chores, earns her prize and then Max is left crying. She also then follows up every request with, “if I do that will I get a star”? At some point I get so frustrated I rip up the chart, and tell Lucy she’s a “star-grubber” and to back off. In other words, it isn’t healthy.
A couple of months ago David directed me to Chore Monster and suggested I look into it and see if I thought it might work for our family.
HOLY. COW.
Chore Monster is in no way compensating me or giving me free stuff for writing this blog post, although I would welcome both because I’m not above selling out.
THIS APPLICATION IS A MIRACLE.
I no longer have to remind my kids what chores they need to do because they both can access a customized list via their electronic device (for my kids it is old i-touch phones). They get reminders when chores are due. They earn points for each completed chore, and then they can cash these points in for prizes. DO YOU KNOW ALL THE PROBLEMS THIS HAS SOLVED?
1. ) My kids don’t ask me for ANYTHING – because now they know if they want something they need to earn enough points. Instead, they just ask me to add it to the prize list.
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2.) I don’t have to nag at my kids to do their chores because they know what they are supposed to do, and if they don’t – they don’t get prizes.
3.) No stealing chores. Now they each have their own list, and most importantly, they can keep track of their OWN chores. Checking them off when complete.
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In addition, when the kids complete a certain number of chores they get to play ‘MONSTER CARNIVAL’ which is this little game where they get to spin a wheel and win monsters that they collect. The Carnival, along with other games the kids can play comes with a membership which is about $30 for 6 months. If you want to use the basic chore application it is free – FREE!!! We started with the free version but after seeing how great it was working with our kids we quickly upgraded.
The interface is cute, slick and easy to use. The tech support is fantastic with personal emails and fast response. I even made a recommendation for improved navigation and it was changed within 48 hours.
The only critical thing I have to say is that it took us some time to set it up. David and I probably invested a total of 3 hours spread out over a couple of days to tweak chores, points and rewards to the point where we liked it. However, it has made the weekly grind of getting chores done so much easier. Not to mention that now Max and Lucy COME TO ME with ideas of chores I can add or ways they can help around the house. They are willingly making beds, emptying the dishwasher, picking up toys and doing laundry — and that is priceless.