For a lot of parents, school holidays are a frustration flashpoint for household chores. Where you might, during the day-to-day hustle and bustle of life, be able to keep on top of all the small jobs and keep things ticking along, suddenly you’ve got more people in the house for longer than usual and, before you know it, everything is a mess.
But whether you’re eyeing up plates left on the side rather than in the sink, glowering at piles of clean washing now in a heap on the floor rather than put away properly or wondering why no-one else ever thinks to clear the table, trying to get kids involved in regular household jobs can be a challenge. What’s more it also often leads to strops and ill-feeling on all sides.
Parents keen to tackle the problem without things getting fractious have increasingly been turning to a new app which makes the whole process a game. What’s more, some families who’ve started using it have described it as actually ‘game changing’ in encouraging the whole family to share the load, ‘making chaotic routines manageable’ and even leaving kids asking what else they can do.
The concept of gamification in tech has become increasingly popular in recent years thanks in part to the widespread take-up of language learning with Duolingo during lockdown. Gamification involves taking mundane or routine tasks and transforming them into little-and-often habit-forming games.
Duolingo focuses on completing small, regular tasks that gradually build momentum towards learning a language – all overseen by a slightly passive aggressive owl who sends you messages of congratulation when you’re doing well but nudges you to keep going if you don’t log in for a while.
Now this new app, called Chorly, aims to apply this gamification technique to children’s chores – and with a friendlier looking mascot to boot. Within the app, which can be used by children from age four, parents can create custom job lists for each family member, and when they’re completed they can be ticked off for rewards – and part of the genius of it is they don’t even have to be financial ones – bit of extra screen time anyone?
Once a task is done, children can add photographic evidence to ensure there’s no cheating. Parents can also set clear goals for regular chore completion. Each completed task accrues points that can then be put towards various prizes or rewards, whether that’s pocket money, a specific toy or treat or even something as simple as a delayed bedtime, reports the Express.
For instance, parents could set a challenging target of, say, 2,000 points at which point children will finally earn a much-longed-for family pet having proved they’re responsible enough to look after one. This not only acts as a great incentive for children to do their chores, but it also helps establish positive habits.
The hope is that, by consistently tracking chores on the app, certain behaviours might become habitual second nature. Meanwhile, a visual list of completed tasks and accumulated points also offers a sense of achievement, while the longer-term goals will encourage patience and a proactive, step-by-step approach that can be applied to other challenges, giving children and teens vital skills for adulthood.
Chorly is available on both iOS and Android, and currently, early adopters can get a 40% discount on using the promo code 40OFF. Over on the Apple App Store, Chorly boasts an impressive average rating of 4.8 out of 5.
One happy parent said: “I love how Chorly encourages my kids to do chores. My daughter now actually walks the dog and cleans her room properly to earn gift cards that I buy for her through the app. The proof and approval feature is fantastic for busy parents like me.”
Another user, a mother of three, praised the app for its simplicity and effectiveness: “As a mom of three, this app is a game changer! It’s simple enough for my 5-year-old to use since they have view for small kids who don’t have phones, and the rewards system motivates all of them without. Chorly has made our chaotic routine manageable and even enjoyable! ”
Elsewhere, early feedback on the Google Play store has been positive. “I love this app,” raved one five-star review. “It’s simple and I can tell the app can be more than what it offers right now. I like the bells and whistles when it comes to organising. I’ve used it almost a week now and my kids are asking what else can they do.”
However, some users expressed disappointment over it being a subscription service. One such user stated: “I don’t like that it’s a subscription. I wish it were free, with the option to subscribe.” Others reported encountering bugs, a common issue with newly released apps: “So far, love the app. Just one big problem. It keeps logging us out. It won’t let us stay logged in which is making it very inconvenient.”
Other habit-forming apps that work along similar lines include Habitica, which gamifies your to-do lists and desired habits or Habit Tracker which is another popular option on iOS, although this are more aimed at adults than children.
Chorly has a family-oriented setup and child-friendly interface, allowing children to be set up on it even if they don’t have a phone. To give it a try with a 40% discount use the code 40OFF at signup.