Having trouble getting your kids to do their chores? Join the club. Maybe it's time to take a new tack. Try "The Chore Board: A Helping-Around-the-House Game," by Sarah Malarkey (Chronicle Books, $14.99).
The concept isn't particularly original — it's a jazzy adaptation of the sticker reward chart that most families have tried before. But this magnetic version — illustrated by kid-friendly artist J. Otto Seibold — makes the whole thing seem like a game.
In fact, it's designed like one: "Players" move their pieces around the magnetic game board, advancing as they complete chores. They're working toward an agreed-upon reward that's recorded in dry-erase marker on the board, along with a list of chores that need to be completed.
And while there's nothing terribly original about the concept of rewards for chores, this format might be just the thing to get the kiddos moving. Or not — but it's worth a try.
©2009, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.