Munchkin Monday: Marble Chore Jars

Marble Chore Jars

So, I'm fairly certain that like me, you have had a hard time motivating your kids to do their chores.  And if you haven't well then we just can't be friends...sorry.  Ha ha, just kidding!

Anyway, I read in the Family Fun magazine a couple of years ago about a really smart mom.

She had a jar for each of her kids and every time they did a chore she gave them marbles.  When their jar filled up then they got something super awesome.  If I can recall, this worked with her young children all the way up to her 16 year old!

I couldn't wait to try it out...

And let me tell you, it totally works!!!

You just have to be super consistent with handing out the marbles.  It satisfies their need for instant gratification.,  the marbles are a tangible item that they get and they love to watch their jars fill up.

My kids earn marbles, but they can also lose them.  If they fight , leave messes, don't follow through on their chores they lose those precious little jewels.

We have been doing this for 2 years and it takes them awhile to fill up their jars, but people...it is STILL working!!!!

We have their jars in a spot where they can always see them, so it is a constant visual reminder.

We will give a marble for doing their dinner dishes, 3 for taking out the trash, 20 for helping Mom clean up a room super fast because company is coming over lickety split and the house is still a disaster...not that that has ever happened...too often.  It all just depends on what you need to get done.  The marbles are a great motivator to get even homework done.

For their reward we usually give them a $20 limit.  It's high, because it really takes them a few months to fill up these jars.  They can buy something they have been dying for, go to the movies with mom or dad, go eat at a special restaurant.  The sky is the limit...well a $20 limit =) but you know what I mean!

One time Isabelle chose a $12 paper doll coloring book and we bought her those really cool twistable crayons & colored pencils.

I got the jars and marbles at the dollar store.  I let the kids decorate them with some fun stickers to help make them their own and off we went!  

I'm not saying this will work for every child, but for ours it was like the heaven's opened and manna rained down from the skies!

You can find this awesome post linked up to the following Fantastic Parties: