Tips for Parents: 7 Ways a Chore Board is the Perfect Tool to Help Discipline Children
It’s quite normal for parents to yearn for affirmation that they’re parenting correctly. A common fear is being too strict or not being firm enough in terms of disciplining children. If you have a chore board or similar system in place, well done. Let’s show you how it can help raise kids into admirable adults.
For parents, some of the biggest parenting challenges facing them in this modern age include not having enough time, always doubting whether they ‘get it right’ and the difficulty of teaching moral values. To top it all off, you’re parenting at a time where information sources like social media make it even harder. Kids may challenge you on a topic, simply because someone on Facebook shared an opinion that’s opposite to your value system.
Sound familiar?
It’s vital to implement tools and resources that will make this journey with your kids a little easier—on you and them. As a result, there may be less conflict in the home. Luckily, something as simple as a chore board can help you reinforce those values you hope to instil in young people—and sometimes they won’t even know it’s happening, so a chore board can help avoid many a tense argument.
What is a Chore Board?
Chore boards come in many different forms. A quick online search will show you nifty gadgets that showcase a child’s tasks for the day or week. After performing them they can toggle a slider to show it’s done.
A chore board can also be a home-made task schedule, showcasing all family members’ tasks or cute pictures of what a toddler must do before bedtime, stuck on their bedroom door.
There are also apps like Enzo that serve the purpose of a chore board, but with the benefit of having chore reminders and the family calendar with you wherever you go. And as long as your child has a phone, they will have it on hand too—so no one can say they weren’t aware of their chores.
Chore boards will differ based on a family’s setup, the ages of the kids and what’s practical for your household to use.
No matter the type of chore chart you decide on using for your household, the goal is to allocate tasks in an orderly manner, helping everyone remember their responsibilities. It also helps communicate to others which chores have been completed, so parents don’t necessarily have to ask for updates all the time.
So, why should you incorporate a chore board into your family life if you don’t have one yet?
Chore Board Characteristics that Help Parents Teach Discipline
There are many common mistakes in disciplining children, but also a few basic guidelines that can streamline this process. Below we’ll show how a chore board is an effortless way of sidestepping some potential parenting hazards, disciplining effectively and even improving parent-child relationships.
Setting Rules and Limits in a Healthy Way
Though most kids would tell you that they don’t like rules, guidelines are essential during their early years—even for teenagers. Experts also believe rules play various positive roles for the younger generation:
- It makes kids feel safe
- They learn about having structure in life
- It leads to learning self-regulation
- They learn about consequences
A chore board makes it clear what the rules are regarding their roles in the house and through the chore system you use for home management, they will experience consequences and outcomes.
Focus on the Good Stuff
Tired parents very easily fall into the habit of focusing on what is bad or not good enough, such as remarking on a floor that hasn’t been polished to perfection, though a child did his or her best. Only mentioning the negative can demotivate and even affect a child’s confidence.
In contrast, giving more attention to positive aspects, such as the fact that the child managed to wash an entire floor by themselves, is motivating. At a glance, a chore board shows all tasks that a child has performed already and when next week comes around they may want to get even more done!
There’s Always Consequences
Discipline can’t only be about the positive of course, and a chore board helps to maintain balance. Parents simply need to establish rules about what will happen if chores aren’t completed, such as:
- Removal of privileges
- Not picking their list of chores for the next week—they’ll be left with the jobs other family members don’t like doing
- Reducing pocket money
- Dog-walking duty for a week
- Early bed times
No matter your strategy though, there must be consequences.
Based on the child’s own decisions, the chore chart will showcase which tasks have been completed and which ones haven’t. At the end of the day or week they’ll know what the results of their choices will be, without parents even having to shout or justify their decision of giving punishment.
The only thing you need to remember here is to stay consistent and always implement consequences. If you don’t, children start viewing rules as a joke, or something they can bend to their liking.
It Allows for Use of Different Forms of Punishment
As shown above, a chore board system makes room for a variety of punishment options (consequences). This is valuable since not all children respond the same to punishment. For example, some kids will enjoy being punished by taking the dog for a walk but hate going to bed early, while a sibling will use an early bedtime to read their favorite book. So, along with giving each child different chores, you can assign different consequences to ensure everyone will stay motivated.
Age-appropriate Chore Boards Respect Kids’ Capabilities
Reading up on chore charts and creating your own chore board, you’ll see the necessity of designing it based on your child’s age. An effective chore management system takes age-appropriate tasks into account for various reasons:
- You must ensure your child can safely perform a task, without putting themselves, others or the property at risk.
- Older kids that are given more difficult tasks will first be shown in detail how to perform a task before being trusted to do it on their own. They learn through being coached and then gain confidence when they start getting it right. By not expecting too much of them at first, there’s less chance of failure, which is a way to help them build confidence, instead of becoming demotivated.
- Some tasks can take place without adult supervision, but others need the parent in the house or directly overseeing the tasks. This communicates to the child the extent of your trust, preventing them from harming themselves or causing damage by taking on too much on their own. Make sure to add task descriptions to a chore chart to clarify this.
All of this is important in terms of disciplining children, because it determines how safe they feel within the rule system. Also, kids will only learn values, such as their own self-worth, by accomplishing tasks successfully. If they continuously fail, they may think they can’t get anything right in life. So, a well-planned chore board that’s relevant to their age, helps them discover their own capabilities and grow their self-confidence—all part of a smart discipline plan.
It Supports Teaching of Life Skills and Building Character
Disciplining your child shouldn’t only be about getting things done or maintaining order. Discipline’s end goal is actually to help a child learn skills they can apply in life once they’re older.
With a chore board, you’re giving your child a chance to make the right decisions, like planning their day so there’s enough time to get their chores done. Because the chore board acts as reminder, you as a parent aren’t telling them what to do every second of the day, so they’re learning some independence.
It’s up to them to remember, prioritize and complete the task. In the process, they also learn values like taking responsibilities seriously. These will be valuable character traits at school and in a career environment.
You’re Modelling Good Behaviour
Most chore boards in homes contains tasks for all family members—from toddlers to parents. Children can see that each individual has responsibilities and if you as a parent take on your tasks with a positive attitude and complete them on time, they have a positive role model to mimic. You can even incorporate chore games to show you can make the best of every situation.
Tech to the Rescue
On today’s market you’ll find many versions of a chore board, ranging from a written chore chart on the kitchen wall to a DIY chore chart that you and your child can make together. Every version has its advantages, but in the modern world, an app is often the best option.
Enzo as a chore tracker app empowers many households to list chores and parents can easily track when they get done. Plus, kids may enjoy a more modern approach! So, use their enthusiasm for clicking on another completed task to get those to do lists sorted!
