Grandparents Helping Out: How to Share the Chore Plan

Decision table: printout, chat or invitation?

Situation	Simplest option	What grandparents need	What the parent does
One evening or a weekend, kids know their chores	Quick verbal rundown	Three or four main points	Approves chores afterward
A few days, more chores or more kids	Printed daily plan + short chat	Handoff card on the fridge	Approves from their own phone when convenient
Kids mark chores done on a shared family device	Printout + chat	To know the kids tap "done" themselves	Approves later
Regular weekly help over a long period, and grandparents want to approve	Invite them as an adult in the app	Their own access and an agreement on what they do	Invites, agrees on roles and reviews access regularly

The key point in the table: approval does not have to happen where the chore is done. A child can mark a chore as done, and you can approve it tonight or tomorrow. The grandparents only need to tell you if something was skipped.

A filled-in example handoff card

The card below is a fictional example. It leaves out full names, birth dates, school and address on purpose. The card usually hangs on the fridge where everyone can see it, so "the oldest" and "the youngest" are enough.

Handoff card: Tuesday and Wednesday (example)

	The oldest	The youngest
After school	Homework at the kitchen table	Empty lunchbox and backpack
Before dinner	Set the table	Feed the cat (food is in the cupboard by the door)
After dinner	Empty the dishwasher	Hang up jacket and put shoes away
Before bed	Pack backpack for tomorrow	Tidy toys in the living room

• The kids do: tap "done" on the tablet in the hallway when a chore is finished.
• You do: remind them once. No need to count coins or approve anything.
• Not done? That's fine. Send a text or tell us when we get home.
• Money: no cash needed. The coins are virtual, and we handle any payouts ourselves.
• Screen time: after homework, until 7:00 p.m. This is an agreement, not a lock on the tablet.
• Call us: Parent 1 and Parent 2 (numbers are on the note in the hallway).

This example is not a recommendation for which chores children of a certain age should do. That varies from child to child. What should kids be able to do at home? A complete list by age can help you adjust the list to your family.

Copyable worksheet: handoff card and access check

Copy this, fill it in and print it. The blank fields are for you to complete.

Handoff card

	Child A (nickname)	Child B (nickname)
After school
Before dinner
After dinner
Before bed

• Who marks chores as done: ______
• What grandparents do if something isn't done: ______
• Screen time and bedtime agreement: ______
• Who approves chores, if anyone: ______
• How to reach us: ______

Access check before the visit

• I have written down what the grandparents will actually do.
• The plan is simple enough to fit on one page.
• The card has no full names, birth dates or address.
• We parents can approve chores afterward, or we have deliberately chosen something else.
• No parent passwords or pairing codes are on the card or sent by text.
• If grandparents will be invited: we have talked about what they will and won't do in the app.

Access check after the visit

• I have reviewed which adults actually have access to the family in the app.
• We have talked about whether that access is still needed.
• Chores that need approval and were marked done during the visit have been approved or declined by an adult.
• The printout is taken down or updated.

When their own access is the right call

Some grandparents are a fixed part of everyday life. Maybe Grandpa picks the kids up every Monday and Wednesday, and they expect him to confirm that the trash went out. Then it can be tidier for him to have his own access than for everything to wait on you.

In Kroni, the family owner can invite another adult to the family. Kids mark chores as done, and adults can approve them if you have set those chores to need approval. Be aware that this invitation is not a special "grandparent role," a view-only mode or time-limited access. The person joins the family as an adult. So agree on what they will use it for, for example "approve chores, but don't change the rewards."

Your agreement about what grandparents should do does not technically restrict their access. Read the invitation together before proceeding.

What you never need to share

Whatever option you choose, a few things should stay with you:

• Your own password. A grandparent logged in as you can see and change everything, and you can no longer tell who did what.
• Pairing codes for the kids. Those belong to setting up a child's device, not to a handoff.
• Cash "for chores." The coins in the app are virtual. If you swap them for real money, that happens outside the app and on your own terms. Necessary costs during the visit, like food and bus fare, are still the adults' responsibility and not something kids should earn.

After the visit: a quick review

Access doesn't disappear on its own when the grandparents go home. Set aside two minutes that evening:

1. Look over the chores waiting for approval and approve or decline them. Closing a week does not approve anything automatically.
2. Check which adults actually have access to the family.
3. Ask the grandparents whether they want to keep access, or whether the printout worked fine.
4. Update the handoff card with anything that didn't work, so the next visit is easier.

An example: Grandma looked after the kids for five days during fall break and was invited for that stretch. Afterward, the family agreed a printout is enough for ordinary Tuesdays. That is the moment to review her access instead of just leaving it in place.