You’re tired of nagging and the clutter that won’t go away. Other systems have failed and you’re running out of options. Dad’s not happy either, and he’s more than willing to throw in a little extra disciplinary action to ensure that the kids are motivated to do their work. How are you going to get them to do their chores and other duties without wrecking the peace in the house? Before you throw in the towel, you might want to give this system a try. Basically, it consists of a colorful, cardboard "chore board" featuring color-coded areas to place adhesive hooks (each of which corresponds to a particular time of the day), blank space for your child’s name, and a spot for the "I Did It" box. After placing the hooks, write your child’s name at the top of the chart, and affix the small, "I Did It!" box at the bottom. Then you need to figure out exactly what your child’s duties are for each day. After determining these, either use the chart-ready stickers, illustrated with small monkeys doing various chores or create your own with the blanks they’ve provided, and stick these to the small, plastic cards, and hang these on the hooks. Then, place the board somewhere within easy reach, and go about your business. The rest is up to them. As the child accomplishes each item throughout the day, they take the plastic card off the hook, and place it into the "I Did It!" box. At the end of the day, they gather up their finished cards, and take them to you in exchange for plastic tokens. It’s up to you to decide whether they will receive any tokens if they haven’t completed every card on the board, as well as what the tokens are worth and what they may be used for. As far as the "cons" of the system go, they are few. The transparent tokens (like bingo chips) would be easy to purchase more of if needed. The plastic cards and stickers would not be as easy to replace. However, you could stick chore stickers to both sides of the card (insert evil laugh here), and if you run short of blank stickers, you would probably be able to find some of similar size in an office-supply store. I like the idea of having each chore and its time frame visibly hanging in everyone’s view, along with the added bonus of receiving reward points they can save up for certain "luxuries." My sisters and I had something similar in a "privilege points" system. We would earn and hoard our points ruthlessly, just to amass enough to have friends over for a sleepover, to be able to go with Dad on Saturday errands, or even to splurge a few points on a snack. We loved it - being part of a family that didn’t believe in allowances, it was exciting for us to get something for doing our chores! Set includes 12 1/2" x 10" chore board, six hooks, 48 colored plastic cards, 150 tokens, 48 preprinted chore stickers, 24 blank stickers, an "I Did It" box, and instructions. - Jess

Customer Review

 
Rochelle B. from Hollywood, FL wrote the following on 07/24/2007:
The product looked good in the plastic, but when I looked at it closely, the "sturdy board" is not that sturdy at all so I decided to pin it onto the wall. We also found the adhesive hooks kept falling off and with it the plastic cards with the sticker chore labels. I'll have to see if super glue works. Having said that, my girls (6 and 8) LOVE this product. They love doing their chores because they like collecting the green and red chips for future rewards. It's easy to use, and compared to other products, this is FUN for kids. Was it worth the expense? YES! Because it works!! If you have more than one child it's best that each child have their own.