Create a game plan for family chores

Micro vs. Macro-Management

Are you used to managing daily life day-by-day, without a solid basic structure? This approach may seem less demanding at first glance, but it brings problems that could easily be avoided:

• Micro-management places the mental burden on parents to decide each day which task to assign to children, who are then forced to live in an unpredictable environment.
• The child wakes up each morning without knowing what tasks will be asked of them (some mornings you ask them to vacuum, others you require them to empty the dishwasher, etc.), which prevents them from taking responsibility and showing autonomy.
• The family environment lacks consistency, a central point of education that provides children with the emotional security and predictability necessary for their development, while facilitating the learning of family values and the development of their self-regulation capacity, in addition to allowing the avoidance of constant negotiations around limits and rules.

The solution? Macro-management!

To lighten your mental load and encourage your children's proactive participation in daily family life, opt instead for a clear, visual, and structured system that will allow everyone to have a more productive and certainly calmer summer, thanks to the many advantages that macro-management brings:

• Increase your efficiency: rather than having to decide each morning what needs to be done and which family member will be responsible, a well-established system will allow you to establish a clear game plan once and for all – no need to think about it anymore!
• Foster a formative system: opting for macro-management teaches children a teamwork method that will undoubtedly be very useful in their studies and future professional life.
• Serene parents: a well-structured system from the start will allow you to fully enjoy the beautiful season, thanks to countless repetitions that will automatically be reduced!
• A lighter mental load: do you want to wake up each morning with a light heart, ready to enjoy the gentle sunbeams? Significantly lighten your mental load: no need to think each day about what needs to be done, as everything has already been clearly determined!

Household Chores on Autopilot: A Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: The Chore Auction

Plan a moment as a couple to hold the household chore auction! No need to pull out your wallet, just follow these simple steps:

1. Together, determine each task that needs to be done in the house: laundry, dinner prep, floor cleaning… everything should be included, from a quick few-minute task to one that requires more time and involvement!
2. Establish the frequency for each task: since everyone has a different tolerance for dirt and dust, this discussion certainly requires some compromises! Your spouse would like the floors cleaned every week, while you can easily tolerate a month without cleaning? Meet halfway: floor cleaning every two weeks, so everyone is happy!
3. Distribute responsibilities fairly: based on each person's schedule and professional workload, as well as personal interests and skills, decide who is responsible for each determined task. Of course, nothing prevents you from revisiting this step several times during the year!
4. Identify tasks that can be delegated to children: depending on each of your children's developmental level and degree of autonomy, as well as their summer schedule (Do they already have a summer job? Are they attending a day camp?), identify the different tasks your children are capable of performing. To help you determine their skills according to their age, consult our Autonomy Pathway available on Octave!

Step 2: Find the system you like

Because our mission is to simplify your life and provide you with concrete ways to make your daily life easier, at Les Belles Combines, we have two perfect, ready-to-use, and easy-to-implement systems: it's up to you to choose the one that suits your family!

Option 1: Octave

Designed specifically to lighten parents' mental load, our Octave application is the perfect tool for efficient and structured planning of your family's daily life.

Recurring task scheduling

Dinner must, of course, be prepared every day, just as laundry often needs to be done several times a week. With Octave, there's no need to write it down multiple times on the calendar: simply select the task's recurrence, and it will repeat automatically, with no extra effort on your part!

Automatic tracking and notifications

Don't have the time or energy to ensure each delegated task is done by your children? Octave allows you to set up automatic tracking and schedule notifications that will remind them for you: no more repeating and following up, Octave does it for you!

Option 2: Chore Chart and Magnets

You don't want to increase screen time and technology at home, or you simply prefer a physical and more tangible version of the system you'll implement? Then opt for our chore chart, to be used with our perfectly complementary magnets!

Visual and manipulable system for children

Perfectly suited for both younger and older children, our chore chart is a visual system that is easy for children of all ages to understand. The magnets also allow them to interact concretely with the chart, thus certainly increasing their willingness to collaborate!

Done: the satisfaction of moving the magnets

Is a task finished? The corresponding magnet is moved to the "Done" section of the chart assigned to the child: an effective way to foster motivation through the feeling of satisfaction from a job well done!

Step 3: Assigning tasks based on age and child's skills

Obviously, your three-year-old cannot vacuum effectively, just as it might be too undemanding for your 13-year-old to have clearing the table as their only daily responsibility. It goes without saying that it's important to assign tasks to each person keeping these points in mind:

• Responsibilities adapted to developmental capacities: take the time to properly assess your child's skills in household chores; to do this, consult our autonomy pathway, which will provide you with indications of the skills you can expect based on your child's age and developmental level.
• A logical progression of responsibilities: the tasks requested must, of course, evolve with time and the development of your child's skills. Thus, if you eventually want to assign dinner preparation to your 12-year-old, start by asking them, from a young age, to clean vegetables, then cut them, and so on until the complete meal assembly.
• A balance between appropriate challenge and guaranteed success: make sure to give a challenge that matches your child's actual skills, meaning neither too easy nor too demanding! The task should be difficult enough to require some effort, but easy enough so that the child is not discouraged by the magnitude of the work to be done.

Step 4: System implementation and fine-tuning

That's it, you're now at the final stage, that of implementing and fine-tuning the established system! To ensure its success, make sure to respect the following points:

• A period of adaptation and adjustments: like any new routine, your system requires an inevitable period of adaptation, where everyone will not only have to get used to the new established structure but also develop their skills related to the tasks now entrusted to them. So, allow things to quietly fall into place, while also allowing yourself to make adjustments if needed.
• Training children in the new system: just as new employees are offered a training period, any new family system requires doing the same with children. Take the time to clearly explain how the implemented structure works and give them the space and time to ask questions that will ensure a good understanding of what is expected of them, as well as motivation to adopt the new routine.
• Regularly evaluate effectiveness: after a few weeks and regularly thereafter, take time to evaluate the system's effectiveness. Does everyone know exactly what they have to do? Are tasks distributed fairly? Is everyone truly able to accomplish what is asked of them? Of course, don't hesitate to make adjustments if necessary!

That's it! You've done good work, and it's now time to reap what you've sown: fully and calmly enjoy these few lighter weeks with your family!