Having a good routine is vital to staying on top of your life. You need to plan how to use your time efficiently, or you’ll never have time for everything. That can be a hard skill to master in adulthood, but it’s easy if you start young.

One of the best ways to teach your children to stick to a routine is by using behavior charts. A chore chart will give them a list of tasks they need to complete before they can engage in various activities. What’s on the chore chart is up to you.

If your child gets used to doing their homework and picking up their room before they watch TV, they’ll keep that habit later in life. They’ll instinctively take care of the work they need to do before letting themselves have fun. Being used to a routine like this is invaluable. It’s so hard to get into these habits as adults.

What chores you put on your chores chart are up to you. You should think about your individual kids and the skills you’d like them to be learning. Don’t look at it as a way to get necessary tasks done. Look at it as a way to train your kids for later in life. Take a look at the many different options of chore charts, rewards charts and sticker charts and behavior charts at Monkey & Chops. (please note behaviorcharts.org is now monkeyandchops.com)

You don’t even need to make everything on the chore chart a chore. For example, does your child forget to brush their teeth without prompting? You can put brushing their teeth on their chore chart. Once they get used to doing it as part of their routine, they won’t need to be reminded anymore. They’ll just do it naturally.

Help your kids become successful adults with chore charts. They’re easy to use, and surprisingly effective. Never underestimate the importance of a good routine.