Hi parents, more times than not my daughter's friends have told me they don't have chores, or parents have told me their children don't have set responsibilities and if that's you then perhaps this might be helpful to you.
I have been asked on multiple occasions how we teach life skills in our household. whether it be brought up in conversation or when friends or family come over, they see our kid's chore chart on the fridge. We don't just have a typical boring chore chart with a star sticker for each day or task completed. (sorry in advance to those who have these, if it's working great then by all means don't kill it) My way is just a bit more in depth and I take the star concept a step further to implement a few different life skills into 1. such as:
Responsibility
Creating habits
Self-care
fundamentals of cleaning
time management
beginning concepts of money
money management
healthy spending habits
building confidence
& more
I do this by having a magnet chore chart at eye level with my child with different age-appropriate tasks and responsibilities they can accomplish. As the child accomplishes their tasks each day, they mark it off. At the end of the week, we pay out "fake" quarters (you can use real money your discretion) In the past we have used tickets and gold coins. I believe by age 4 they can start to understand the concept of money and counting. we started with 1 quarter per chore she did. She would count all the magnets she got for the week and I would give her that many quarters on "pay day". As she gets older, I'm able to give more money each task but to keep it simple to start would be 1 per task.
The money earned goes directly into our 'family store' stocked with an assortment of trinkets, toys and candies collected from various outings and shopping trips. Often, these are among the countless items our child spots while we navigate through stores, aiming to minimize sticky fingers on tempting displays. Now, instead of pleading for everything and facing disappointment when denied, she requests items to be purchased for her store. It's a win-win situation fostering responsibility and satisfaction in our household.
The owned and operated Seivert family store: We never have a set time when the store opens because our schedule can be a bit bananas. I tend to open it a couple times a month. As our daughter eagerly prepares her wallet and basket for shopping, I transform our dining room table into a mini storefront. We display a mix of familiar and surprise items, each adorned with simple pricing tags, introducing her to the concept of money. For starters we would just use simple numbers. like 1, 2, 3 for now, we'll gradually incorporate more detailed prices as she grows, teaching her the basics of budgeting and saving along the way.
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