Mother praised for ‘life-changing’ chore chart where she FINES her kids for not helping around the house
- An Australian mum thought of an ingenious way to teach children responsibility
- Keira Alexander created a chart which rewards or fines kids for their behaviour
- Points can be earned by brushing teeth, unloading dishes and feeding pets
- Points are deducted for throwing clothes on the floor, being rude or telling lies
- Rewards like money, sleepovers and ice cream are given at the end of the week
A mother keen to teach her children a sense of responsibility has created a chart which rewards them for doing chores but fines them for messiness and bad behaviour.
In a bid to encourage her young daughters to help around the house, Australian mum-of-two Keira Alexander drew up a spreadsheet which awards points for unloading dishes and feeding pets, and deducts them for lying, fighting and leaving clothes on the floor.
Basic activities including getting dressed, brushing teeth and doing homework are worth five points, while extra chores like vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom sink and washing the car attract anywhere between 50 and 250 points.
Rude and unhelpful gestures like throwing towels on the bathroom floor rather than putting them in the laundry basket, leaving toys strewn across the floor, throwing tantrums and forgetting to close the toilet seat can cost the girls up to 100 points.
The system gives bonuses of 10 or 20 points for things like being kind, listening carefully and completing all basic chores in one day.
Australian mother-of-two Keira Alexander created this spreadsheet to teach her young daughters a sense of responsibility
Chores like vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom sink and washing the car attract anywhere between 50 and 250 points, while bad behaviour including lying, fighting and leaving clothes on the floor can cost the girls up to 100 points
Rewards like money, sleepovers, trips to the cinema, takeaway dinners and extended time on the iPad are awarded at the end of each week if the children behaved well enough to accumulate the necessary points.
Having a sleepover with friends requires 500 points, while rock climbing and going to the cinema require 750 points each.
The girls are allowed to take a day off school if they amass 10,000 points.
The idea has been widely praised and hailed as ‘life-changing’ by fellow parents since it was shared in a mother’s group on Facebook in early February.
Rewards like money, sleepovers and extended time on the iPad are awarded at the end of each week if the children behaved well enough to accumulate the necessary points
The idea has been widely praised and hailed as ‘life changing’ by fellow parents since it was shared in a mother’s group on Facebook in early February (stock image)
‘I gave this a go on my own kids and it’s been simply life-changing,’ one mother said.
‘I need this in my life – my son will work his a** off for these rewards!’ said another.
When one woman joked about needing a similar chart for her husband, Ms Alexander replied: ‘I thought about adding my husband to our chore chart, but then I realised I probably didn’t want to offer him the rewards I know he’d demand!’