Having fun while learning to do housework

I am a stay-at-home mum with three kids aged five, six and eight. When they were much younger I had a very hectic schedule, juggling childcare and housework all day long. Just a year ago, I started to think of ways to train them to be helpful and responsible.

Why not start them young on household chores? I have heard true stories of young teens or even young adults who don't even know or are too lazy to sweep or mop the floor or wash their own clothes.

First, I worked out a list of simple chores that my young kids could do such as setting the table for lunch/dinner, drying and collecting the clothes, and mopping the floor.

Every afternoon, after their lunch and homework time, I would assign a room for each of them to mop. As the rooms differ in size, they would take turns mopping a different room daily.

As expected, the rooms are not as clean as when I mop them myself but I just let it be. I don't re-mop the room as I want to show my encouragement and trust in their work.

The trick here is keeping them motivated to do the chores daily. Besides my active role of full supervision while they are mopping or undertaking a chore, they earn a star for each chore completed.

I have three sheets of paper with their names on them displayed on my fridge door. I either draw stars or “stamp” the paper with their name on it.

Once they have accumulated sufficient stars (my goal for them is 100, and they earn an average of five stars a day), they can use the stars to redeem a small gift for themselves. I use this as an opportunity to take them to the bookstore and let them choose what books they want.

This way, not only do they have fun while doing the housework, they also learn:

- The value of hard work – being rewarded after earning 100 stars;
- Not to take things for granted – it take lots of effort to keep a house clean; and
- To appreciate other people's work – it takes them close to a month to earn the stars so they always choose their books carefully. I associate this with daddy's hard work to bring food to the table and to provide opportunities for them to learn music, art and martial arts.

This system is also used to reward good behaviour such as an elder sister helping the younger one to take a bath, sharing of food, and practising their martial arts and music daily.

Occasionally, I throw in a surprise by taking them to their favourite fast food restaurant. Most of the time, I just order one big meal set for the three of them. This way, they learn to share in a fun way!

They still have so much to learn but they are definitely having fun while walking the path.

Law Ko Shin