There are 'fines' for not helping out: A mum's genius chore chart for her kids.

Continually asking kids to do their chores to no avail can sometimes be more effort than it’s worth.

One mum, however, has found a way to get her kids genuinely excited about picking up dog poo whilst simultaneously teaching them about the value of money.

The answer? Chore charts.

Of course, reward charts aren’t new. But this one is about as simple and easy as they come.

And it’s designed via an excel spreadsheet – the source of all things good.

Side note… Mamamia staff confess to the time they were a ‘bad mum’. Post continues below.

Mum-of-two, Keira Alexander, explains to Mamamia she “wanted a system that would help them do more around the house, help them be more accountable, and help them really think about the value of work and items.”

So how does it work?

Her two daughters, eight and six-years-old, are awarded points for doing household chores and contributing to their home in a positive way, even if that means “excellent listening”.

They are also ‘fined’ for doing the wrong thing, for example leaving clothes on the floor or being rude.

“The fines are there for accountability,” Keira explains to Mamamia. “They can’t just tick off every reward on the chart and not have repercussions for bad behaviour.”

“We tally our points at the end of the day at the bottom of the chart and then add them to the running total at the end of the week,” Keira shares.

“The chart is fluid and flexible,” she adds, saying they change and remove chores and fines as they see fit.

The mother-of-two says she and her husband have noticed real changes in how their daughters deal with discipline.

"Yesterday [one of the girls] told a little lie. Usually, we'd get into an argument about it, but this time I said to her, '100 point fine, do you know why?' She straight away answered calmly, 'Yes, because I told a lie.'"

Indeed, Keira says one of the main successes that has come from the implementation of the chore chart has been the lesson of accountability. The other is the value of money.

This played out on the weekend when the family went on a shopping trip.

"I gave them a money limit of what they could spend on lunch and my eight-year-old wanted something for $2 (200 points) more. I told her she could have it, but she had to contribute the extra. At first, she said 'no' but then when I said 'Okay, let's go home', she changed her mind and gave me $2."

Of course, Keira admits her eight-year-old daughter was "upset that she now has to 'pay' for some things that she previously got for free, like dinners out, school lunch orders etc."

"I explained to her that now she is earning points, then she's expected to contribute. We will still buy them things from time to time, but if it's outside of that and she wants it, she has to use her points."

"Both of them are now learning about the value of money," Keira continues. "Not just from a sense of things cost money, but from a sense of having to earn it themselves and how long it takes them to earn that much."

"There is now a direct correlation for them between what something costs, and what it's actually worth to them. And I think that this is one of the biggest lessons for them with this."

And, despite their few objections, Keira says her kids actually "love it, particularly my eight-year-old".

Upon posting her chore chart online to Facebook, Keira was hailed for her "genius" chore chart. However, there was also some backlash from parents, to which she says: "I don't force the girls to do anything, they are accountable for what they choose to do."

If you would like to use Keira's chart, you can download it here. 

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Feature image: Supplied. 

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