A Chores Experiment

I have struggled for quite some time to find a way to get my kids to do chores around the house.  I have tried daily chores.  I have tried charts and lists.  My most recent effort has been to do Saturday chores.  Basically, every Saturday, I give each of my three girls a list of 3-4 chores to do.  I try very hard to make sure they are reasonable and fair, but my directions are inevitably met with whining and complaining.  For example, I typically assign them each a section of the playroom to clean.  The conversation starts like this:

Child 1 - "Why do I have to clean up the marker?  I didn't get them out!!

Child 2: "She's not doing anything.  she's just sitting there watching us clean!"

Child 3: Cries

Child 1: Yells at Child 2 - "Stop putting stuff in my section for me to clean!"

Child 2: "I'm putting it in your section because that's where it goes!"

Child 3: "Moooommmmmyyyyy!!!!  They're fighting!"

Child 1:  "Well, I'm cleaning and she's yelling at me.  And #3 isn't even cleaning.  She's just telling on us!"

Child 2: "You're not cleaning!  you're just throwing more stuff in my section for me to clean!"

And so on and so forth until . . . . .

Me: Yell, Yell, Yell - "Just Forget it!  I don't know why I bother asking you to help.  Just go to your rooms and I'll clean it up!"

In short, we all really, really dislike chore time because we all know how it will end.  It is miserable for everyone.

In the past, I have never paid my kids to do chores.  I figure it is their responsibility.  After all, I am asking them to clean their rooms and the messes they made.  I do waaayyyy more chores than them and I don't get paid, right?  I guess I want them to take pride in a clean, orderly space and I feel that should be reward enough.  Obviously, "clean and orderly" aren't all that important to them.

Well, this past Saturday, there were chores that needed to be done.  They all had stacks of clean laundry that had been sitting in their rooms for a week.   Their rooms were messy and the playroom looked like a bomb had exploded.  Hubby was outside doing some yard work and I was not looking froward to implementing the Saturday chore torture routine.  So, I gave it a little thought and decided to give them some incentive this time.  I told them that this time they could earn money for doing their chores.  I reminded them that we were going on vacation soon and that they would be able to use the money for souvenirs.  I gave them a list of chores, each with a dollar amount attached.  I told them that if the chore was not done properly, they would not be given the full amount.  I also told them that money would be deducted for complaining, whining, fighting, or tattling.  Let me tell y'all - it was light someone lit a fire under these girls!  They jumped right in and got to work.  Their rooms were spotless.  Their clothes were put away properly.  The playroom was organized.  The best part - there was no fighting; no whining; no yelling.  They each earned the full potential reward of $7.

Now, I 'm re-evaluating my previous approach.  Maybe they are too young to have the intrinsic motivation I am hoping for.  If so, maybe bribing rewarding them with a little cash is o.k.  After all, parting with $21 was soooo much easier than all the yelling and arguing that would have surely taken place using the "old" method - my sanity is completely worth $21!!!  As a bonus, they can work on their money management skills if they continue to earn some cash.

So how about all of you??  Are your kids required to do chores?  If so, do they earn money for it?  What system works for you?