Few parents see digital games as a promising way to pry kids off the couch─much less inspire them to be useful around the house. But a new generation of chore apps, designed primarily for the under-12 set, aims to turn kids into bed makers, laundry folders and toy picker-uppers by offering rewards ranging from funny collectible monsters to redeemable digital coins.
没有多少家长会把电子游戏当成让孩子们离开沙发的好办法，更不用说让电子游戏来激励孩子们在家里发挥作用了。不过如今有了新一代的主要针对12岁以下孩童开发的家政软件，这些软件通过为孩子们提供奖励，比如可收集的好玩怪兽或者可兑换的电子货币，希望把孩子们变成整理床铺、折叠衣服和收拾玩具的“高手”。
Brooke Wise of Dallas says a $3.99 smartphone app called You Rule Chores has her three children, Justin, 12, Rafaela, 9, and Will, 4, actually competing to see who can do more housework. The children were involved from the start, helping their mom enter the list of chores, including laundry, cleaning up after the family dog and loading and unloading the dishwasher. Each child chose one of the app's six avatars, which include a pink kitty, a robot scientist and an intergalactic policeman.
达拉斯的布鲁克•怀斯(Brooke Wise)说，一款售价为3.99美元的叫做“家务，你说了算”(You Rule Chores)的智能手机软件真的让她的三个孩子──12岁的贾斯廷(Justin)、九岁的拉斐拉(Rafaela)和四岁的威尔(Will)──开始比赛谁可以做更多家务了。孩子们帮助妈妈完成待做的家务，包括洗衣服、清理宠物狗的排泄物、把脏碗碟放进洗碗机、将干净的碗碟收好，等等。每个孩子都在软件中选择了一个自己的虚拟化身，可供选择的化身一共有六个，包括一只粉红色小猫、一个机器人科学家和一名星际警察。
For chores completed─and approved by Ms. Wise─the app doles out digital coins the kids can redeem for rewards, such as TV time or a trip to the yogurt store. The siblings compete to see who wins the most coins and like seeing their avatars earn new strengths and skills each time they finish a job. Rafaela says she loves playing with her kitty avatar, and 'it's fun getting paid' in rewards.
完成家务并且得到怀斯的核准后，该软件就会相应奖励一些电子货币，孩子们可以用这些货币来兑换奖品，比如看电视的时间或去酸奶店喝酸奶的机会。三个人相互竞争，看谁赢得了最多的货币，他们也喜欢看到自己的虚拟化身在每次完成家务之后获得的新能量和新技能。拉斐拉说，她很享受操作她的小猫化身，另外，“能够得到报酬也十分有趣”。
For Ms. Wise, who says she was concerned about keeping the kids busy this summer, the results have been surprising: 'They make their bed, pick up their rooms, and my daughter goes out in the yard and picks up the dog poop! I'm like, 'Who are these children?' '
之前，怀斯很头疼如何才能让孩子们在这个夏天过得充实些，现在的结果让她非常吃惊：“他们自己整理床铺，整理房间，我的女儿还跑去院子里清理狗粪！我都要惊呼了：‘这是谁家的孩子啊？’”
While preschoolers often like to lend a hand with adult tasks, fewer parents are optimistic they will hear the words 'What can I do to help?' from their older kids. The number of 9- to 12-year-olds who help with household tasks fell 9% between 1997 and 2003 to 72%, according to the latest trend data available, published in a study in the International Journal of Time Use Research. And it may have fallen further amid kids' rising use of videogames, computers and cellphones, says the study's author, Sandra Hofferth, a family-science professor at the University of Maryland and an authority on children's time use. By ages 16 to 18, only 65% of kids take part in chores, Dr. Hofferth says.
学龄前儿童往往喜欢帮大人们做家务，至于年龄较大的孩子，家长们就不怎么指望能从他们口中听到“我能帮你做些什么吗”这样的话了。根据《国际时间使用研究杂志》(International Journal of Time Use Research)公布的最新趋势数据，在九至12岁的孩童中，帮助大人做家务的孩童比例在2003年为72%，比1997年减少了9%。该研究报告的作者桑德拉•霍弗尔兹(Sandra Hofferth)说，由于电子游戏、电脑和手机越来越多地占据了孩子们的时间，这个比例应该已经进一步下降了。霍弗尔兹博士是马里兰大学(University of Maryland)家庭学教授，同时也是儿童使用时间问题方面的权威。她说，16至18岁的青少年中，只有65%的人会帮着做家务。
App designer Brian Linder says he and his business partner Nathan Clark launched You Rule Chores in 2011 because 'we knew it was always a pain in the butt to get our kids to do work around the house.' They wanted to motivate kids without 'the nagging and the repeating yourself over and over until you sound like an insane person and end up doing the chores yourself,' says Mr. Linder, of Dallas, whose own sons are 9 and 12.
应用程序设计师布赖恩•林德(Brian Linder)说，他和他的合作伙伴内森•克拉克(Nathan Clark)于2011年推出了这款“家务，你说了算”软件，因为“我们知道怎样让孩子做家务始终是让家长头疼的一个问题”。林德和克拉克希望能激励孩子们去做家务，而不是家长们“一遍又一遍地唠叨和重复，搞得自己像个疯子一样，结果到最后还是得自己把家务做完”。家住达拉斯的林德有两个儿子，一个九岁，一个12岁。
Parents don't mind the apps' resemblance to videogames because so many children are already entranced by games on their smartphones and hand-held game consoles, he says.
林德说，家长们并不介意这一应用程序与电子游戏类似，因为现在有很多孩子本来就沉迷于各种智能手机和游戏机上的游戏。
Chris Bergman of Cincinnati, father of an 18-month-old son, says he worked with another dad to launch an app called ChoreMonster earlier this year because he wanted housework to be fun for kids. 'Chores were a huge tension point in my home' when growing up, he says. 'I was always getting in trouble.' The app, available at $4.99 a month for use on the Web and with Apple's mobile devices, gives points and rewards for chores, along with passes to a Monster Carnival where kids play to win either one of the game's 200 humorous monsters or a booby prize such as stinky socks.
辛辛那提的克里斯•伯格曼(Chris Bergman)有一个18个月大的儿子。他说他与另一位父亲在今年早些时候发布了一款叫做“家务怪兽”(ChoreMonster)的应用软件，因为他希望让孩子们觉得做家务是有趣的。伯格曼说，在我成长的过程中，“家务是家中的敏感话题，我也总是因此惹上麻烦”。该应用程序费用为每月4.99美元，可以在网页以及苹果公司(Apple)的相关移动设备上使用。这款应用软件会给予点数和奖品作为完成家务的回报，它还会派送一些通关卡，这样孩子们就能参与到“怪兽嘉年华”(Monster Carnival)中赢取200只幽默怪兽或者一些古怪的奖品，比如臭袜子。
Hannah Carpenter of Searcy, Ark., says she had trouble structuring a housework system for her four children, ages 1 through 10, until she started using ChoreMonster in February. The app 'is a huge motivator,' and her kids are gaining skills, she says. Her 4-year-old daughter Enid has learned to fold and put away laundry, Ms. Carpenter says, and her 10-year-old daughter Tristin rushes to help out, saying, 'Don't unload the dishwasher─I want to do it.'
阿肯色州瑟西(Searcy)的汉娜•卡彭特(Hannah Carpenter)说，在二月份开始使用“家政怪兽”应用之前，她一直没能很好地给她那四个年龄从一岁到10岁的孩子分配家务。她说，这款应用程序“是一个巨大的动力”，她的孩子们也因此学到了技能。卡彭特说，四岁的女儿伊妮德(Enid)已经学会了叠衣服并把衣服归置好，10岁的女儿特里斯丁(Tristin)也很积极，她会说：“别把碗碟从洗碗机里拿出来──我想要干这个活儿。”
Other apps include Epic Win, a role-playing to-do list manager, and iRewardChart and Chore Pad, digital replacements for traditional chore charts with stickers or stars.
其它的此类应用包括一款可以角色扮演的待做家务清单软件“史诗胜利”(Epic Win)，以及“奖励表格”(iRewardChart)和“家务便笺”(Chore Pad)，后两款软件可以取代传统的用便签纸和小星星来做标记的家务清单。
Chores teach kids self-control and self-regulation, says Jim Fay, co-founder of the Love and Logic Institute, a Golden, Colo., provider of parent training and resources. Research shows self-regulation─learning to invest effort and persist in finishing difficult tasks─is a powerful predictor of academic and career success. It's best to start instilling the habit early, Mr. Fay says, teaching children that chores are a shared family responsibility and each member is expected to contribute. If parents can find a way to make chores fun by, say, pretending the open washing machine is a basketball hoop, he says, 'go for it.'
科罗拉多州戈尔登(Golden)的“爱与逻辑事务所”(Love and Logic Institute)的联合创始人吉姆•费伊(Jim Fay)说，家务能够教会孩子自我控制和自我调节。该事务所是一家专门提供家庭教育培训和资源的机构。研究表明，自我调节能力──投入努力并坚持完成艰巨任务的能力──是学术和职业生涯能否成功的一个重要指标。费伊说，自我调节习惯越早灌输越好，应该让孩子们明白：家务是一种需要分担的家庭责任，每一位家庭成员都应该贡献自己的力量。他说，家长如果能找到一种方法让做家务变得更加有趣，比如让孩子把打开的洗衣机看成是个投篮筐，那么“就这样去做吧”。
Working side by side with youngsters on household jobs can be a motivator. By the time they were 3, each of Denise Benham's four kids was pushing a toy lawn mower around the yard behind their father Royce, says the Kennewick, Wash., mother. They learned as toddlers to measure and do basic math by breaking eggs for pancake batter and pouring soap into the washer. Now 4 to 16, the kids do chores with their parents most Saturdays. 'A bond is created when we work together,' Ms. Benham says, while also conveying the importance of a clean, orderly home.
和其他的孩子一起做家务也会是一种动力。华盛顿州肯纳威克(Kennewick)的丹尼丝•贝纳姆(Denise Benham)是四个孩子的母亲，她说，每个孩子在三岁左右的时候都要在院子里跟在父亲罗伊斯(Royce)身后推一台玩具割草机。他们幼儿时期就学会了测量，并通过做煎饼时帮忙打鸡蛋和将洗衣液倒入洗衣机这些事情来学习基本的算数。现在最小的孩子已经四岁，最大的16岁，他们几乎每个星期六都会和父母一同做家务。贝纳姆说：“我们一起干活时建立了一种特殊的关系”，同时也向孩子们传达了家里整洁有序很重要这一信息。
Parenting experts advise treating teens like adults, setting clear expectations and consistent consequences. Jayna and David Cox write and sign a housework contract annually with their 13-year-old twins, Seth and Jenna, paying $5 a week for duties such as laundry and kitchen cleanup, says Ms. Cox, of Oklahoma City. This year, they added mowing the lawn. 'We're businesspeople, and we feel it doesn't hurt for the children to learn a few things about business,' says Ms. Cox, an information-technology project manager. The twins can earn bonuses for extra work, but their pay is docked if they slack off.
家庭教育专家建议，对待青少年应该和对待大人一样，设定明确的期望和前后一致的奖惩。俄克拉何马城(Oklahoma City)的杰娜•科克斯(Jayna Cox)和戴维•科克斯(David Cox)夫妇有一对13岁的双胞胎孩子──塞思(Seth)和詹娜(Jenna)。每年父母都会和双胞胎签订一份家务合同，合同规定每周会支付双胞胎五美元以完成洗衣服和清理厨房等家务。今年，他们又增加了修剪草坪的项目。身为IT项目经理的杰娜说：“作为商务人士，我们觉得让孩子们了解一些商业知识没什么坏处。”双胞胎可以通过额外的工作赚取奖金，但一旦他们在家务事上有所懈怠，薪酬就会遭到削减。
Such setups require parents to coach their kids on housework skills, but also to give up some control─and avoid micromanaging, which can lead to conflict with teens trying to assert their independence. Ms. Cox says that while she has shown Seth and Jenna how to do laundry correctly, Seth still washes colors and whites together sometimes. 'He doesn't always care if his socks were once white and are all gray now,' she says.
这样的安排要求家长们能够在家务技能方面指导他们的孩子，但也意味着要放弃一些控制，还要避免事无巨细的监管，因为这可能会导致父母与努力要证明自身独立的孩子发生冲突。杰娜说，尽管她已经教过塞思和詹娜如何洗衣服，可是有的时候塞思还是会将有色衣物和白色衣物混在一起洗。她说：“他一点也不在乎原来的白袜子被染成灰色了。”
More important, she says, is that the twins are learning the natural consequences of failing to be responsible: 'If they don't do the laundry, they don't have clean clothes.'
她说，这其中更重要的是，两个孩子学习到了不负责任会有什么后果：“如果他们不洗衣服，就没有干净的衣服穿了。”