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Mum creates clever chore board with some zip-lock bags and a cork board.

The 44-year-old mother of four, Sarah Girvan, created a ‘chore board’ that she places almost $10 worth of coins in bags labelled with jobs like ‘clean the lounge area’ and ‘feed the animals’.

chore board

Her daughter, Mackenzie, 10, can chose how often, when and which tasks she chooses to do each week, but ultimately she’ll end up doing a group of ‘free’ chores as well – just like Mrs Girvan’s other three children.

‘We choose tasks that are age appropriate. Sometimes it’s as simple as feeding the dog – which she might get 50 cents for – or if she vacuums the lounge it will be $1,’ she told FEMAIL.

‘My husband and I were just tired of going to the supermarket or shops and for her to be asking for things all the time. This way she can learn the value of money and also buy small things that she’s been eyeing.’

‘Right now she’s really interested in making slime – which involves borax, shaving foam and glue. Those ingredients aren’t necessarily cheap so this is a good way for her to fund it,’ Mrs Girvan said.

But not everyone is so convinced about the ‘chore board’, suggesting the invention pays Mackenzie too much and she should be doing a lot of those tasks regardless of money.

‘It works for us and that’s all that matters to me,’ Mrs Girvan explained in reply.

What little tricks do you use to get the kids helping more?

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  • Brilliant idea. What ever works

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  • If that’s what works for them then so be it.

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  • This is great. But i don’t think i will do this.

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  • I think this is a fantastic idea, but I just don’t know I would be able to stick with it.

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  • I love this as an idea. We can want our kids to do chores unselfishly, but the reality is, it doesn’t happen. And this does not depend on how good a parent you are. We used to have a chart on the fridge, but I love this idea more.

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  • I think this is a great idea. I used to do a list or chores to be done and paid them weekly. They always knew how much they had earned and kept count themselves. One job they were never paid for was cleaning their rooms. That was their private domain and their responsibility. If I had to clean it then they lost all the money they had earned through the week. Worked for us

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  • I have a list with money amount and after inspection if happy I tick it off and they get paid at the end of the week, like they would if at work

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  • One of my friends does this. The kids get paid their pocket money by doing chores. The more they do, the more money they earn. Her kids are between 15 and 10yr old. She hardly does any homework herself anymore.
    Although it sounds good, I like to teach that helping and doing chores is normal part of life. I expect them to help without getting paid for it.

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  • My son is much younger and we use a sticker rewards system. He gets a sticker when he does something good or a chore that we have asked him to do. When he gets 10 stickers he can choose from a selection of prizes that we have sitting on top of the fridge.

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  • I love this, they can see the reward visually as well. Great incentive

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  • I have mixed feelings, I think it is a good idea, but as long as they also know that they should be helping out without money it works to teach them to contribute to the household, unfortunately does not work for teenagers, not even money can get them to clean their room let alone do chores without a complaint.

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  • Great idea!

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  • I LOVE this idea and am totally using it.
    It teaches children “value” (task and relative amount of pocket money), addition and saving. Sharing this with my friends!

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  • Haha my daughter would just take the money and go or she she probably wouldn’t even care about the money and wouldn’t do the job

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  • I’m still yet to find a chart that encourages my children, they will do things when asked, and there morning routine

    Reply

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