Managing Kid Responsibilities Simply
Managing chores, pet duty, and privileges for three kids is a STRUGGLE.
And over the past few years I have attempted multiple types of chore chart checklists for my kids!
We are now on iteration 3,376…well, not exactly, but anyway…
This new year I am trying something a bit SIMPLER.
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In this post I’ll share the simplified systems we’re using for daily and weekly chores, pet feeding rotations, and quiet time schedules as well as how we keep track of whose turn it is to sit up front in the car.
I’m the Problem
Apparently the problem with my checklists - esp. the complicated ones - is not that my kids can’t do it. It’s just too much for me to manage.
I’ve realized that for me, as a homeschool mom of three, I need miniature habits rather than super-cool complicated systems that sound amazing and last 1.5 weeks before we give up…yes, that’s how long we have lasted on many of our attempts.
When I create small habits (aka “mini-habits”) I can more easily “stack” those to create better systems in my home. I actually see this in all parts of my life from fitness and weight loss to simple chores like washing dishes.
Simpler is better. I can always make it more complicated later. But I’m more likely to be successful with a small change.
Simple Chore Charts
In retrospect, I realized that 6 items per day per kid was a bit much for my currently 5, 6, and 8 year-olds. Here’s a link to one of my “cooler” charts in case your kids are older - or your capacity to manage kid chores is higher than mine!
So, we are simplifying it to 3 chores per day. That doesn’t include general pickups - which I plan to implement before Lunch and Dinner each day.
Sample Charts
Editable Canva Templates of these Checklists are available in my Free Printables section.
As you can see I included pictures for my younger kids but my oldest is a solid reader and said he didn’t want the pictures.
I kept them black and white so the kids can mark off each chore and then I can print more each week without wasting a lot of ink.
I could have just stuck them in a plastic sleeve sheet protector or laminated them and used a dry erase marker. I’ve tried that before. But I decided for this new chart, printing several copies and trading them out each week will be the easiest way for me to manage it. I am learning what works for me by trial an error.
And like I said before, the biggest struggle in my house is ME keeping up with all the things.
Tying Chore Charts to Privileges
I added “blow off the porch” for each of my boys. We have a small sized blower the boys can use. As I was deciding how to divvy up the two porches, so one kid wasn’t always having to clean the larger porch, I decided to tie it to our car seating arrangement (explained below).
In short, whoever is in the “front” seat does the front porch and whoever is in the back seat does the back porch. This way it’s easily connected to the front seat privilege that they already keep up with! Win-win.
In addition to the chore charts, we have several other charts and systems that we keep on the bulletin board near our laundry room. The only reason they have actually worked for us for several months now is that they are SIMPLE. AND because my kids could take ownership of them. I’m going to share these here too in hope that they will help another frustrated mom…
Feeding the Dog
Depending on the day, everybody wants to feed the dog or nobody wants too. It’s like checking the weather - you never know how the wind will blow…
SO - we needed a rotation.
In our house we have 1 dog who eats 2 meals per day. And you can probably see the frustration with 3 kids, 1 dog, and 2 meals.
Enter the rotation dog-feeding chart. And it has ACTUALLY WORKED for several months now!!!
Sample Chart
I’ve added this editable template (for Canva) in my FREE Printables section. For each of the dog’s meals, the kid whose name the dog bowl is under feeds the dog and then moves the bowl over to the next kid in line.
You can replace these Canva images with pictures of your own kids - I think my kids like seeing their own faces. :-)
A Few Tips
To reinforce the dog bowl, either laminate it or fold a piece of packing tape over it and then cut it out. I provide several of the bowls in case you want to prep some backups. I use simple velcro dots like these to hold the dog bowl on the chart.
Because my kids began forgetting to move the dog bowl on the chart to the next kid, I instituted a rule that if they forget it, they have to feed the dog again at the next meal. That has helped a lot with remembering to move the chart!! Funny how simple, natural consequences work.
Quiet Time Rotation
Two of my kids share a room. So I can’t just send all of them to their own rooms.
An editable Canva Template version of this chart is available in my Free Printables section.
For Quiet Time (aka mommy’s time to regroup and recuperate from the morning) I needed a SIMPLE system to alternate the coveted “quiet time spots.”
This could work with any “rooms” or even sections of a room in a smaller home - or a house with more kids.
Rather than doing a chart for days of the week, we just start day one on the first day of the week that we need it and then go to the next one. Some days we skip room time so when we resume the kids just know to go to the next day. And I usually just start over on day 1 at the beginning of each week. I don’t move anything on the chart - but of course you could do that, like have a clip that someone moves each day.
Usually my kids remember who was where the previous day if I forget. AGAIN - this is my goal - give THEM the responsibility.
Who Gets to Sit Up Front?
Anybody else remember arguing with your siblings about who got to sit in the front seat growing up? Or maybe it was a race to get to the car first so you could grab the coveted seat? Of course back then we didn’t have to be as old to sit up there as kids do these days. But anyway…
In our family it’s actually the middle seat that we call the “front.” Since my youngest is still in a booster and neither boy is old enough to sit in the front passenger seat, they have to alternate between the available “front” seat and the back row. Needless to say, both boys want to sit in the “Front.”
A few months ago we instituted switching on Sunday mornings on the way to church. They sit in the front for a week and then switch. It’s amazing how easily they keep up with it all by themselves. Yet again, I don’t have to remember!!
When my youngest is ready to join the rotation, I’ll probably just have them rotate in age order so THEY can keep up with it - and since there will be two front seats and one back seat, we’ll just change the wording to who sits in the back - instead of the front!
Of course every house has different chores as well as different privileges depending on many factors - your kids’ ages, whether you have a pet (or five!!), how many kids you have, etc.
Regardless, I hope these simple ideas will inspire you to make your 2025 easier and more productive!
