by Krista Jansen

Created on: June 22, 2009

It is not necessary to bribe children to help with household chores. As part of a family, children should be expected to help out around the house. Chores help teach kids about a good work ethic and responsibility for one's property. Bribery of anything, from chocolate and candy to cell phones really doesn't teach kids anything except how to manipulate a given situation.

Now, I'm not suggested that children should be doing any hard labor around the house. They don't need to caulk tiles in the bathroom or build doghouses on their own. But even at a young age, children are capable of helping around the house.

Kids around the ages of 4-7 can help with the following chores:
Picking up their own toys
Clearing their dinner plates
Sweeping the kitchen floor
Dusting

Kids aged 8-12 can be given even more responsibility, including:
Making their bed
Walking the dog
Taking the garbage to the curb
Drying the dishes

Teenagers will likely push back on added chores, but now is when they should really want to show their parents how responsible they are by:
Loading and unloading the dishwasher
Vacuuming
Babysitting younger siblings
Laundry duty
Cleaning the bathrooms
Mowing the lawn

Doing chores together, and making them fun, is a great way to get little kids involved. Show your children that you're proud of them when they pick up their toys or clear their dishes from the table. Don't give them candy as a reward, instead say "Well done" or "Thank you for helping." They'll learn quickly and may want to help around the house even more.

As kids get older, chores are seen more as work and less as a game. But just be honest with your children and explain how much of a help they are being when they take out the garbage or vacuum the living room. They may complain, but they should still pitch in without being bribed with a trip to the mall or a new video game.

In order to instill a sense of pride in a job well done, while also building financial responsibility, I do think parents should offer their children a weekly allowance. I don't consider this a bribe, because the allowance should be conditional upon completion of the child's chores and schoolwork. Rather than being a monetary handout, the allowance is something that needs to be earned each week. Children will quickly learn and understand the connection between the work that they are doing at home and the allowance they receive.

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