How to Teach Your Children to do Chores While Having Fun

If the words "chores" and "fun" seem like opposites, take a turn towards the creative side of housework and make daily tasks a joy for your child to do. Preschoolers and kindergarten-aged children can do basic household tasks such as watering flowers or emptying a waste basket, grade schoolers between 8 and 9 years old can try more complex tasks such as mopping the floors or putting folded laundry away, and kids 10 and over can change their own bed sheets or help to unload the dishwasher, according to Michigan State University Extension. Instead of putting the bore in chore, turn your child's housework into fun-filled games or light-hearted activities that she will actually enjoy.

Instructions

    • 1

      Add a touch of the performing arts to your child's chores. Make up a "chore" song for your preschooler or young elementary school-aged child. Sing it with your child as he does his daily chores. Turn up the tunes and dance with your older child or almost-tween as he sweeps the kitchen floor and dusts off the living room tables.

    • 2

      Turn the chore into a game of pretend play with your preschooler or kindergarten-aged child. Pretend that your child has a new "job" that features the chore at hand. Give the chore a name, such as official laundry folder or head sweeping assistant, before your child begins her house cleaning duties.

    • 3

      Play a race to the win challenge and see if your preschooler or kindergartner can beat the timer. Set a reasonable amount of time for your child's age and the task, such as three minutes for your kindergartner to pick up the toys in the family room and put them into the toy box. Create an Olympic-like time trial for your older grade school-aged child or soon-to-be pre-teen. Set a stop watch -- or the stop watch function on a cell phone -- and time your child to the tenth of a second. Let him know that finishing quickly isn't enough, and that he has to do an acceptable job in order to get credit for the chore.

    • 4

      Switch up your child's jobs. Rotate your child's chores by the week or month or have siblings swap jobs every other week. This keeps boredom at bay and builds a variety of cleaning skills that your child will need as a young adult, such as sweeping up a messy floor, folding laundry and dusting.

    • 5

      Cheer for your preschooler or younger grade school-aged child. Sit on the sidelines and praise your little one's efforts to sweep, mop or put her toys away. Speak in an exuberant tone, use silly songs or create your own cheer squad-worthy rhyme. Praise your older child's efforts, telling her how you appreciate how much she is helping the family out, acting as a team player and taking on responsibilities. Point out the skills that she is building and how she will someday use them when she goes off to college or has her own family.

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