Book Review: Beyond the Chore Chart: Chores, Kids, and the Secret to a Happy Mom by Kimberly Eddy

BEYOND THE CHORE CHART:
Chores, Kids and The Secret of a Happy Mom

By:  Kimberly Eddy

Published: March 5, 2012

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Have you tried to get your children to help out around the house?
Do you stress out over the state of their messy rooms?
Do your children ignore your carefully crafted chore chart?
Is it easier for you to just do the job yourself?
Do your children view helping out around the house as punishment?

Then, Beyond the Chore Chart: Chores, Kids, and the Secret to a Happy Mom is just for you!

When it comes to books on chores, we moms need something that would go beyond just hanging up an age appropriate chore chart up on the wall, and assuming everyone would catch on and start helping out. There’s a process to getting your helpers to really help you out, and in this book I share my own tricks of the trade, getting your little helpers to become big helpers!

Learn the secret to getting your kids to help you with household chores, without yelling at your kids.
Why training your children step by step to do each job prevents frustration for you and them.
How to teach your children, at different ages, to help with chores.
Ways to make helping around the house fun.

I purchased this on my Kindle for $1.99 and it is still currently at that price HERE. Kimberly Eddy is also known as Joyful Momma and her blog is titled Adventures in Mothering at http://joyfulmomma.com/.  She is a homeschooling mom with a large family and like all moms, she can't do it all.  Eddy has many wonderful tips on how to start with your toddlers and work your way up to teenagers and teaching them how to help out around the house.  I no longer have toddlers and have been requiring chores for many years, but this book was still quite helpful to me in my approach to the chores with my 7, 11 and 12 year olds.

I had several "lightbulb" moments while reading this book.  Here are a few that might be helpful to you as well:

1. "Chores are not about lightening your load as a mother.  Chores are about training our children." It isn't that I was actually thinking of it that way, but did give me a different perspective in my approach with their chores.  What chores are life-skills that they will need to know later on in life?
2. "Hey, you want some help with that? Let me show you a trick that helps me...." Rather than taking offense when I try to assist them with a task, this approach will make things more laid back.
3. "...having our work noticed makes us feel more encourages the next time we do it..." I know when I have spent all day cleaning or making a delicious meal, I expect it to be noticed and praised and I need to be better about praising the kids after a job well-done.

All in all, this book was just an excellent reminder for how we approach chores in our home and our attitudes about it.  If we make them fun, do them together, and remind ourselves we are growing our children into capable adults, then doing a few chores won't be so bad.