7 Ideas To Make Chores Fun For Your Kids

Many of us have young or elementary school-aged children who will be home for the summer.  How are we going to keep them busy?  At our house,  my kids help with little jobs!  My kids love helping out around the house.  Want to know the secret sauce to that bold statement?  You can make chores fun for young children.  Here are 7 ideas that I use to make chores fun for the whole family.

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1.  Make Chores Fun By Creating A Game

First tip!  Perhaps one of the simplest Mom tricks out there is to make everything into a game.  How do I make chores into a game?  There are many ways to do this,  but I find myself falling back on these.

Set a timer

My kids love racing against the timer.  I will set the oven timer anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.  And we work together to beat the timer.  This is a great way to get kids’ chores done quickly!

Include favorite toys

Make chores a fun game by including their favorite toys.  My 4-year-old son LOVES including his dump truck and loader.  “Dumpy” has hauled many loads of laundry to the machine for us!

My daughter loves to play dress up and pretend.  So she has her child-sized apron to wear when she helps clean up around the kitchen. You could also get “kid size” cleaning tools.

2.  Special Bonding Time Makes Chores Fun

Second tip!  Another way to make chores fun for kids is to turn it into bonding time!  Every kid thrives on a special time with Dad or Mom.

My daughter and I have a special time every Saturday that we work together in her room.  We pick up her toys,  and she helps me fold and put away her laundry.  But most of all,  this is our space and time.  It’s time for chatter and silly giggles and girl stuff…  all while getting a lot of work done!

While Abbie and I have our special time fixing up her room,  my four-year-old son enjoys time bonding with Daddy.  He loves “helping” with yard work.  Win win!

3.  Make Chores Fun By Giving Praise

Third tip!  Lavish praise should be the norm to help make kids’ chores fun!  Cheer for them as they make progress.  As a parent,  you are probably already pretty used to this role of cheerleader.  You may already do this without thinking,  but laying it on extra thick when they are helping with chores really helps.  My kids’ faces literally glow when I praise them for helping with the chores around our house.

4.  Make Chores Fun By Helping Others

Fourth tip!  Children are naturally generous and giving.  I’ve found that my own children really dive into helping me do housework and cleaning when I’ve told them how much it means to me to have help!  This might take a little teaching conversation before hand.  You can help them understand that it makes you happy to have their help!

Another tip is to tell them they are surprising someone else.  My kids literally make their areas shine when I tell them “Hey,  let’s get this cleaned up and surprise Daddy.”  Surprises, a time limit to motivate them (before Daddy gets home from getting groceries).  And of course,  Daddy does his part by being appropriately surprised and delighted” by their hard work.  Everyone wins.

5.  Make Chores Fun By Giving Choices

Fifth tip!  Chores feel less like chores,  and more like fun when your children have choices!

• “Are we working together in the the kitchen today or the playroom?”
• “Which oil should we diffuse while cleaning?”  (Tip:  My kids love to diffuse lemon!)
• “Should we set the cleaning timer for 15 minutes or for 20 minutes?”

All of these choices lead them exactly where you want them to go – getting their chores done.  But they feel like they have a choice….  which makes everything just a bit more fun!

6.  Silly Is Fun But Still Gets The Job Done!

Sixth tip!  We all know that kids LOVE silly.  Anything silly,  and the sillier the better for younger children.  The “Clean Up” song by Barney works amazingly well for a reason!  We sing the clean up song,  use silly voices,  or whatever silliness it takes to get them moving on their household chores!

7.  A Small Reward Helps Make Chores Fun!

And our seventh tip!  Knowing that a small reward ahead also makes chores fun!  Now a reward doesn’t mean spending buckets of money or anything like that.  Here are a handful of reward ideas that we frequently use.

• A special game (hide and seek – with Daddy or Mommy playing,  too – is a hit around here!)
• The next meal is a picnic (nothing fancy,  just a blanket spread out on the floor)
• Screen time (we usually limit it,  so that’s a big treat!)
• A small piece of candy or other special treat
• Larger rewards can be a trip to the library,  local zoo,  or the dollar store!

Tell Me Your Favorite Tip To Make Chores Fun!

Last,  but not least,  I would love to hear from you!  What is your favorite tip to make chores fun at your house?  You can share your tips over on Facebook in my group,  Exploring Essential Oils!