Daddy Clay: Today we reveal the secret to
getting kids to do their chores. Daddy Brad: Are you ready for the matrix?
Daddy Clay: Today’s episode is brought to you in collaboration with Man of the House.
Daddy Brad: Now getting your kids to perform a few household chores can be tougher than
armadillo jerky. Daddy Clay: Which is, which is very tough.
Daddy Brad: Very. Daddy Clay: But there is a solution. Our highly
scientific studies have shown that parents go through six distinct phases as they try
to get their kids to perform chores. The first stage, 1. Resentment. It slowly dawns on you
that kid leave their stuff all over the place and its somehow becoming your job to pick
up after them. But because they’re little and cute, you put up with it. Phase 2. Becoming
your Mother. Daddy Brad: Do you think I’m your personal
maid? Do you think all this stuff is going to clean up itself? Do ya? Huh?
Daddy Clay: You will use these expressions despite having personal experience that they
are not at all effective. Then on to the next phase, perhaps the most annoying, phase 3
The Julie McCoy. Daddy Brad: Ella, you want to learn the pick
up song? Pick up the toys and put em’ in the basket. Pick up the toys and put em’
in the basket. Come on, can you do it? Daddy Clay: Stage 4: Creative Threats.
Daddy Brad: If this room is not clean, in five minutes, I’m killing the dog.
Daddy Clay: Stage 5: Resignation. You eventually decide that it’s just easier to do this
crap yourself. But if you are lucky and en-lightened young, neo-dad, there is another solution.
Daddy Brad: The matrix, otherwise known as the chore chart.
Daddy Clay: Okay, so maybe the shore chart isn’t exactly a revolutionary concept.
Daddy Brad: Yeah, but it sure works better than stages one through five. Trust us, we
tried them all. No the concept is pretty simple. The kids perform certain tasks and they put
a check every time they perform them. Get enough checks and you get a reward. There
are a lot of pre-made charts from the market we found that kids do better and get more
invested when they help decide on the task and help make the chart themselves. This can
be a fun and a really creative way to kick off the project.
Daddy Clay: So here’s my daughters chore matrix. She just made a new one because she
filled her old one in and you can see this is very much 9 year old girl. She chooses
her own chores and sort of makes her bed, cleaning her room, setting the table. And
if she gets a certain amount of check marks, then down here she has a list of places she’d
like a gift card form and she can pick which one she gets. And see this, Claire’s, some
earrings, bookstore. She spells like her dad. Daddy Brad: She has a lot to do.
Daddy Clay: And you notice that there are dots there. Kids love to use these do-a-dots,
you can use stickers, or just do the old school check mark, but they love putting these dots
in there, and that’s something that makes it a little more fun for them. And we find
it to be absolute effective. Does it work for you guys?
Daddy Brad: Oh, absolutely it works, its great. Daddy Clay: We don’t even have to ask the
kids about their chores because they’re after themselves, they want those dots, they
love getting gift cards and so it really works for us. So we want to hear from you, what
kind of luck are you having getting your kids to do chores around the house? Are you using
a matrix or a reward calendar, let us know what’s working for you. You can drop a comment
on this video or go to Dad Labs, or join the conversation at Man of the house.
Daddy Brad: We’d like to thank our friends over at Man of the House for making this video
possible. And we’d like to thank you for watching this video. And that’s all for
us here, take care.