Let me just start by saying that I love cheap child labor – at least when the child is mine and the work is being done in our house! Our two big kids recently started offering to do chores and asking for allowances. It was time for us to have a good talk with them, Jacob (7) and Jordan (5), about their responsibilities at home.
They know that we all need to pitch in to help each other, especially because we are a big family – they get that part. The boys have also learned that if there is a special toy they really want and it is out of the gift-giving times of birthdays and Christmas they will have to pay for it themselves – or at least contribute some of their own money – they get this part too!
My husband and I agreed that instead of just handing the kids a dollar at the end of each week, we would rather incentivize them to do age-appropriate chores around the house.
I am still not 100% convinced that we are sending them the best message by “paying” for them to pitch in around the house. But the beauty of parenthood is that we have the right to change our minds at any given moment. For now, I will tell myself that we are attempting to teach them about fiscal responsibility and they need to earn their allowances.
Besides this project was a lot of fun to prepare for them – and it was inexpensive! This is the message we are sending them at the present time – if revisions are necessary, we will handle those as eloquently as we manage to navigate any curveball this fun game of parenting throws us.
Our System: Chore Sticks!
- Due to the kids being so young, we have chosen this system, which gives them control over how much they earn each week and which chores they do.
- We kept the chores simple, fun and age-appropriate. The object of the game is to show them that they earn more if they work harder, which is a great incentive if there is a particular item they are saving up for.
- The main jar contains all the “chore sticks” at the beginning of each week.
- Each day they will pick one or more chores to complete.
- Once they have done a chore the corresponding stick is moved to their respective jar.
- There are also “Bonus Star” sticks, which we, the parents, may put in their jar if we see they are doing something super special.
- Once their sticks have been earned they cannot be taken away from them, except for the “Bonus Star” – that stick may be removed if they misbehave.
- At the end of the week, their sticks are counted and they receive $0.25 cash per stick, and then all the sticks are returned to the main jar in preparation for a new week.
The verdict: The kids LOVE the new system. They are embracing the control they have over how much they earn in a week, and they make sure to complete one or two each day.
Jacob earned $2.50 last week and Jordan got $2.25, so they had really been busy. We have enjoyed the extra help at dinner time and their rooms have been very tidy all week.
Now to the fun part – Making the jars and sticks!
Supplies needed:
Mason Jars:
- Wash & dry the Mason jars. If you use pasta sauce jars soak them in soapy water for 30 minutes so you can easily remove the label. Make sure the inside of the jar is thoroughly clean, so the paint will adhere nicely.
- Pour paint INSIDE the jar, squirting it as far back into the jar as possible. Work over the kitchen sink, so you can let the excess paint drip out. Twirl and move the jar around until the entire inside is coated with paint.
- Place the painted jar upside down on top of several pieces of paper towels. Depending on how much excess paint there is, you will have to change the paper towels out every 10-15 minutes to make sure it doesn’t bleed through.
- Turned the jars right side up for SEVERAL days to ensure that they were completely dry.
- Finish the jars by wrapping ribbon around the top. Secure the ribbon with a dab of glue.
- Fill the jars halfway with sand so the chore sticks can stick up and be seen.
Chore Sticks:
*** Edited in 2018! ***
We recently found Chore Sticks made by Creative QT and they are awesome! I have since gotten rid of my handmade chore sticks and instead, we are using the preprinted ones. The new Chore Sticks fit our needs perfectly and the package comes with a few blank ones for you to customize! Best of all, there are several FUN surprise chores for kids of all ages!
However, if you prefer to make your own, these are the instructions:
- Write chores on the popsicle sticks. Have fun with this step.
- Sit down with your kids and talk about which chores they would like to incorporate into this project.
- Kick your feet up as your kids clean your house, cook dinner and maybe even make their beds.
The next project is to add a jar for my husband’s “chores.” A jar full of “put dirty clothes in the hamper,” “lower the toilet seat,” “replace the toilet paper when you use the last square,” “put the milk back in the fridge” and “take your shoes off inside the house!”
Update: Two years later, I have now added a jar for Jansen (4) and we are still using our chore sticks weekly.
I am convinced that this is pure genius! I love this system and will definitely be using it when the times comes in our household. I especially love the addition of the “Bonus Star” sticks. Pinning now!
Thank you! The kids are really embracing it and having fun with it – and as we both know – that’s the key to their buy-in. Thanks for pinning.
Love this idea! We are constantly changing how we do chores around the house. This system is great. (And I love the idea of a hubby chore jar! Ha!)
Thank you! The Hubby Chore jar was an after thought as I was finishing the post, but I think I’m on to something! We also have to change things up – to keep them new and exciting
This is a great system. Fortunately my kids are grown; I was more interested in finding out how to make the colored jars. It seems fairly easy and I want to make some to hold pens at the baby shower I am hosting
The colored jars are super easy and they look so shiny because the paint is on the inside. I have become obsessed with pasta sauce jars now!
This looks like a really great idea! We have 4 kids in our household & 1 on the way. They already have a chore list to complete everyday, but recently they seem to have been bored by this system. Thanks for sharing this idea!! I do have a question, though: Did you make 2 jars per child? (One that holds the chore sticks & the other to hold the ones completed?) Or 1 jar per child and 1 jar to hold all the completed chores for all the children?
Congratulations on your new baby! – good luck with your older kids! Our kids have loved the chore sticks for quite some time now – much longer than I had hoped for!
I have one jar that holds ALL the chores to be completed. Then the two oldest each have a jar to keep their completed chore sticks in. Does that make sense? This way we can easily account for chore completed.
Thank you! This makes perfect sense & seems to make the process just that much easier. 🙂
This is great! We use a weird point system. They get points when they proactively do something helpful (like empty the dishwasher) but when they have a lapse in judgement they lose points. They have an intimate understanding of adding and subtracting negative numbers now lol.
Question, what do you do about the same chores that need to be completed daily? Like feeding animals or making beds? Do you have more than one of this stick in the chore jar so that it gets chosen every day? If they keep the sticks in their “done jar” for a week that would mean that that chore would get done only once a week. Does that make sense? Thanks!!!
Sarah – thanks so much for your question. Yes, I have several sticks with the same chores on them. This also comes in handy when “everyone” wants to help set the table or pick up the room. Enjoy!!!
Can you name the chores that you placed on the sticks?
Yes – some of the chore sticks are actually blank – that gives me wiggle room to give the kids “credit” for helping me with quick chores that weren’t really planned. We have chores/ tasks such as: put away laundry, clear the table after dinner, set the table, play with your younger brother(s), read to a brother, clean your room, clean the game room, clean the living room, help clean the car, water plants, sweep outside… I hope that helps. GOOD LUCK