So, this summer of 2023 has started out really weird. Going into it I felt a lot of frustration. The teenager’s attitudes had been wild. I said “that’s it, they need things to do this summer”. So I made a chore chart for each of the kids rooms titled “Daily Room Chores” and they were all customized with graphics and colors that we felt suited them and each had their name on the top.
I had my husband present the charts to his kids, along with a family household chore chart. The household chore rules were simple – do the chores under the daily, weekly, and bi-weekly sections or don’t – we didn’t care. I presented the charts to my kiddo (7) when she retuned from her dads that Wednesday. In hindsight I’m sure the older kids knew who made the friggin charts. There’s no way my husband would be playing with graphics like that, but anyhow, we thought it might go over better if we presented them to our own respective kiddos.
The household chore rules were so simple because we explained that no matter what, the things needed to be done. So, they could help or not, but if things were not done then we couldn’t do the other fun things on our list for summer (and they’d lose their electronics for that evening – this is clutch mamas).
The charts had the opposite effect on the kids I expected. I expected some pushback, at least initially, especially from the 13 year old girl. However it appears it’s been exactly what she’s needed. The 15 year old boy on the other hand? He’s going to have to feel the pain of the loss of electronics I think to really feel the pain – honestly I’m not even sure that will work, but we’ll see.
The 7 year old initially was super excited, but that wore off really quick. I’m going to have to implement a few other tricks to get her consistently on board, but she DID say to her step-sister yesterday she wanted to help more around the house – so there’s that.
The other thing the girls (7 and 13) are doing this summer (15 year old didn’t want to participate – see above), is a summer reading program through the library. Again, the 13 year old has been THRIVING. She’s read over 900 minutes in 3 weeks. For a kid who has routinely disliked reading, this is amazing. There’s prizes involved that include gift cards for teens, and I’ve dangled a few other carrots along the way. We went to the bookstore last weekend and she loved it. Seeing her start to pick out her own style (including a two piece bathing suit – more on that later – dad is doing fine) to include the books she reads has been really amazing.
If you want a copy of the chart, you can grab it here. Family Chart.
If you'd like the room charts, I was silly and didn't save each one individually on my Canva, but I can send them to you. Just comment "room chores", and I'll send it to you!
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