Summer Chores for Teens

Over the years, I have come up with more kids chore charts than I can count on both hands. I’m always looking for a new and improved method. A few weeks ago I created a new chore system for the summer, and so far it is working.

One motivator for getting chores done is something I learned from my mother, “No workie, no payie.” Which means, if you don’t work, you don’t get paid. But money doesn’t motivate my girls. However, if the phrase is, “No workie, do playie,” then that means something!  If you don’t work, you don’t get to hang out with friends. The key is figuring out what motivates them. And this works for both of my teen girls.

Here is how to create a chore system for teens:

1. List all of the household chores you want to delegate to your teens. 
2. Decide which chores need to be done daily and weekly. Because “Kitchen Duty” is a daily chore, we still rotate it weekly. So for a whole week they do the dishes and clean the kitchen. At first this was hard because a few years ago one empty and one filled. Then I switched to every other day do it all. But now they get a whole week off after working all week.
3. Allow them their agency to choose when they get the jobs done, but don’t let them hang out with friends until they do. 
4. Let them decide how much they want to do each day. Children come in all shapes and sizes, and their personalities vary so much that one system does not work for another. One of my girls likes to get as much done as possible in one day. The other wants to do a little bit each day. Both ways works for me.
5. Make and laminate detailed chore cards and hang them in the area to work. This is helpful because they see my expectations. 

They have actually done a wonderful job! They need reminders, but not being allowed to go do something is the greatest reminder. 

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