Kids and Summer Chores: There's an App For That
App created by dad of six teaches kids about work and money.
— -- The struggle to get kids to do their chores may be even greater in the summer, with video games, pool parties and sleepovers dominating the agenda, but an Arizona father of six children said he has a high-tech solution that gets the job done.
Gregg Murset, whose kids range in age from 8 to 17, said his idea for the My Job Chart app came four years ago from the "craziness" of making sure his kids were chipping in around the house.
"That was the impetus for creating My Job Chart," he told ABC News. "Parents struggle with summer time because there is no school, so that leaves time for a whole lot of nothing. The good thing about My Job Chart is it brings some structure."
The free iOS and Android app allows parents to assign chores to their children, track when they're complete and set up an incentives system for earning an allowance, which can then be spent, saved or donated to charity at the child's discretion.
Murset said he offers his children a dollar for dollar matching option if they choose to save their money — and it's something that has paid off for his son, now 17, who Murset said has nearly $10,000 saved.
"We wanted to talk to them about how to work harder and make good money decisions," Murset, who recommends the app for children ages 5 to 15, said.
Since its launch, Murset said more than 30 million jobs ranging from vacuuming to mowing the lawn have been logged in the system, with more than 825,000 parents using it as a way to teach their children about work.
Marcia Kester Doyle, a parenting blogger and mother of four, said she used to have to draw charts and place them on the wall each week to encourage her children to do their chores.
"Nowadays kids are always on their mobile devices, so I think they would be more receptive to reading what chores needed to be completed and check them off as they go along," she told ABC News. "By using an app, you could also make it fun and interesting by turning it into a game or by offering cool but small incentives once all of the jobs are done, such as going out for an ice cream cone or renting a favorite movie that night."