Most of us as parents have tried using free printable chore charts that can be found all over the internet, or have even created something similar ourselves in order to get our kids to do chores, improve behavior, or track progress on something important. The truth is that they usually work...at least for a little while. Then, without warning, they start to fizzle for both the parent and the child. There are many reasons why printable family chore charts tend to fizzle out, but we have discovered very common reasons for why they don’t seem to last the test of time.
- High maintenance is the first two words that come to mind with printable chore charts. Most chore charts have to continually be printed out on a daily basis or weekly basis. This is great for a week or two, but not realistic for most parents to maintain throughout the weeks, months, and years.
- Parents need to print a different chore chart for each child in order to match each child’s ability level. Printable chore charts are not flexible enough to accommodate children’s growing needs unless a new chart is printed. The demand to print and reprint multiple charts for children as they grow and develop can be overwhelming and time-consuming.
- Parents are responsible to keep these charts organized, whether they are stuffed in a binder or cluttering the fridge. Have you ever lost a child’s chart before? This is not uncommon, because they can be difficult to keep track of. The stickers are also hard to keep track of. There are many times a chart starts with stickers and by another week or two, there are handwritten check marks or stars. Once the stickers are lost or all gone, you are either off to the store to purchase more or left to figure out your own way to mark the chore chart.
The DoDots Family System™ reverses the demands on the parents’ time and effort to maintain the System. Instead of stickers, marbles, or popsicle sticks, it incorporates reusable color-coded magnets for tracking progress that can easily be switched at any time. The DoDots board is designed to last a long time without the need to print anything. DoDots also allows parents the flexibility to match their child’s chores to his or her age and/or ability appropriate level easily and at any time. There is no need to recreate another chart as children become older, nor print a separate behavior chart or goal chart. DoDots All-In-One Family System works for all ages and includes many charts into one.