Are apps a good idea to manage children’s chores?
October 4th, 2011
How do you get your kids to do chores at home?
Do you offer them rewards? Do you pay them?
Or do you use an app?
John Rosemond in his article “Skip the app for children’s chores” makes a strong point that using an app that rewards children for doing chores is Parenting of the Absurd. Trying to entice kids with gimmicks and rewards does not teach children the concept of family. Rosemont says “First, a family is the most fundamental of social groupings. The family, not the individual, is the building block of a functional society. As such, family is the training ground for citizenship. Good citizenship is defined by contribution, not entitlement. Therefore, children should be contributing members of their families. The most meaningful way they can contribute is by doing their fair share of the work that must be done to keep the home clean, tidy and otherwise habitable.” (Read entire article here.)
I share a similar philosophy with Rosemond. In a previous post, I wrote “If we pay our children to do chores, we are sending them two messages: 1) They are entitled to freely have everything we provide for them while the contributions they make has to be paid for. 2) A family is just like a business where you get paid for doing work. We just happen to all live under one roof.”
What do you think? Do you reward your children for doing chores?
Do you use an app for that?
Comments
In our house, the kids get an allowance independent of doing their chores. The chores are done, as you said, because the kids are contributing to the household, as we all are.
Good job, Asian Mommy! I think a little reward once in a while, that involves the whole family is appropriate – “If we finish cleaning the garage, we go out for ice cream!”
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