Getting the kids to help doesn't happen overnight. You also can't wait until you think they are old enough to help and do a good job, then start. By then, it's too late. Helping and learning to work is something that takes a lifetime to learn. It took me a whole year to get our son to take out the trash without a fuss ("My legs hurt!" ~Meanwhile he's running around the yard and climbing on everything! LOL).
Housework seems overwhelming to children. I've found breaking down the job helps a lot. We've tried many things. First, instead of saying, "clean your room," say, "Pick up the books," then "Pick up the blocks," etc. This breaks down the job into bite sizes that the children can handle (works great for adults, too).
Use a timer or a clock for cleaning up. "If everyone can pick up in two mintues, then we can go outside and play."
Clean by the hour: Eight o'clock--pick up toys; Nine o'clock--change sheets on your bed; Ten o'clock--vacuum; etc. ~or~ Eight o'clock--clean the bathrooms; Nine o'clock--clean the bedrooms; Ten o'clock--clean the kitchen; etc. This helped our son because he didn't want to be held hostage until the whole house was clean--it was torture to him, so knowing that he could go play between jobs was a big help.
There are many ways you can schedule housework. When our children were very young, I did it on the weekend so I could moniter the little ones. When they were a little older, we got it all done on Friday night so we could enjoy a clean house over the weekend. Spreading it out over the week makes the load less each day.
You may have different areas and more or less people who can help in the process. The chart is to give you ideas. If everyone stays up on the housework, Mom doesn't have a very big load and can do more family things.
