How to Use Chores to Teach Your Child Time Management Skills

Younger children need more direction. As they get older, you can gradually release control to them until their chores become self-directed. For example, if you ask your child to bring their dirty clothes to the laundry room on Monday morning, you will start out by asking them every Monday morning. You might add the phrase “since it’s Monday, bring your dirty clothes to the laundry room.”

Eventually, you may want to ask “What day is it? So what chore do you need to do this morning?” Until eventually they will start to do it on their own.

Using a daily calendar like the Melissa and Doug Daily calendar or a monthly whiteboard calendar (for older kids) can be helpful.

This is a neat idea for a DIY visual daily calendar using Magnatiles.

Creating a visual chore calendar would be beneficial too. For example:

Monday- laundry

Tuesday- tidy

Wednesday- wipe out bathroom sink

Thursday- trash out of the bathroom

Friday- tidy

The end goal is for your child to check what day it is and take care of that day’s chore(s) on their own.

Let me know your thoughts below!