Earn your Screen time: house chores & digital kids

As parents, getting our kids to do their house chores has always been a daunting task. And a big part of it was the immediate access they had to their smartphones with its never-ending stream of entertainment. It was (and still is) really important for us to teach them the “chores first, play later” mind set. So how do you make a kid clean their room before scrolling to the next short video??

Use our Free Chores for Screen Time Chart here

Try The Gleam App that makes children Earn their screen time here

We have tried restricting access to their devices until they finish their chores, but it often led to frustration for all parties involved. We got really tired of the never ending argument!  

Is screen time a good reward?

Screen time is often more important to kids than even cash. If positioned as a privilege to be earned, it can be an excellent motivator to complete offline activities like house chores. The key is to provide a clear and consistent  'earnings' structure.

We tried this approach, and offered them an opportunity to earn their screen time by completing various tasks. Using parental control apps, we let their phones open for just a portion of their daily limit. Obtaining more time required completion of various chores listed on a white board. Later we created this chores-for-screen-time-chart, which we printed and posted on the fridge.

We found it to be a successful method to motivate our kids to do their chores, and it was pretty cool to see how differently each of our kids approached the challenges: one worked really fast through the entire list, the other was doing a few at a time, and the third would do one task at a time and use up all the extra screen time before moving to the next chore.

It was good, but It didn't take long for us to realize that this process requires a lot of our attention and hands on management to assure daily consistency. And it was hard. The arguments and negotiations were never ending, and there was still a lot of friction all along.  And that's one of the reasons that led us to develop Gleam.

Earn Your Screen Time!

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Gleam supports offline challenges like 'clean your room' or 'do your homework' (create any challenge you want!). Once completed, kids attach a photo and send it for parental approval. Once approved, they earn their screen time reward - as defined by the parent. As simple as that!

This really helped us to be consistent in communicating our expectations, kids complete their daily chores with much greater motivation, and the best part? We dramatically reduced the amount of arguments at home.

Gleam offers various benefits, including ensuring that a portion of your child's screen time is educational, reducing arguments over screen time, and motivating kids to complete their tasks before accessing entertainment. So if you're struggling with getting your kids to do their house chores, consider using Gleam. Not only will it help you with managing screen time, but it will also promote healthy habits and overall well-being for your child. Create your own chore-chart using our chore-chart template. Even better, Give the app a try and see the positive impact it can have on your family's daily routine. Happy parenting!