How to use ChoreDeck

Everything you need to get your family up and running.

1. Getting started

  1. 1
    Go to choredeck.com and tap Get started to create your parent account with your email and a password.
  2. 2
    Check your inbox for a confirmation email and tap Confirm email. (No email? Check spam, or use the resend button on the “Check your email” page.)
  3. 3
    Log in and you’ll land on your dashboard — the parent’s view where you manage everything.
One parent account covers the whole family. Kids don’t need accounts or email addresses — they get their own simple view (see Kid mode).

2. Adding your kids

  1. 1
    On the dashboard, tap + Add kid.
  2. 2
    Enter their name, and optionally a birthday (their age stays current automatically) and a weekly allowance amount.
  3. 3
    Pick a color and an emoji avatar — this is how your kid spots their own card at a glance.
  4. 4
    Optionally set a PIN (4–6 digits). Your kid enters it to open their own chore list, which keeps siblings out of each other’s lists.
Each kid gets a card on your dashboard:
🦊Samage 8

$5.00 / week

To edit or remove a kid later, tap their card. You can change everything — including viewing or changing their PIN if they forget it. Tap the avatar (✏️) to change their color or emoji.

3. Setting up chores

  1. 1
    Tap a kid’s card to open their page, then scroll to the Chores section.
  2. 2
    Type the chore (e.g. “Make bed”), choose Daily or Weekly, and tap Add.Daily = expected every day (brushing teeth). Weekly = once per week (mowing the lawn).
  3. 3
    Use Edit to rename, the ▲▼ arrows to reorder, Disable to pause a chore without deleting it, or Delete to remove it.
A chore row on the kid's page:
▲▼Make bedEditDisableDelete
The kid’s page also shows Completed this week — a read-only view of what they’ve actually checked off, day by day. Chores reset automatically every Monday; you can also tap “Reset this week’s checkoffs” to start the week over manually.

4. Kid mode — how kids check off chores

Kid mode is the simple, full-screen view made for kids. It shows only their chores, with big tap targets. Kids don’t need their own accounts — it works on a shared family tablet or on a kid’s own device: you log in once, switch to Kid mode, and it stays that way (see sections 6 and 7).

  1. 1
    From your dashboard, tap Kid mode (top right).
  2. 2
    The “Who’s here?” screen shows a big tile for each kid. Your kid taps their own tile.
  3. 3
    If they have a PIN, a number pad appears — they enter it to open their board.
  4. 4
    On their board they tap a chore to check it off (tap again to un-check). Today shows today’s daily chores; This week shows weekly ones. When everything’s done — confetti! 🎉
  5. 5
    Previous Days lets them peek at earlier days of the week (view only). Done returns to the kid picker for the next sibling.
Checking off a chore on the kid board:
Feed the dog
✓Make bed
Kids can personalize! Tapping their avatar (the ✏️ badge) on their board lets them pick their own color and emoji.

5. Extra chores — bonus work with payouts

Extra chores are one-time bonus jobs with a payout attached — money, or a privilege like extra screen time. Either side can start the deal, and the other side accepts or declines.

  1. 1
    Parents offer: on a kid’s page, scroll to Extra chores and tap + Offer extra chore. Name the chore, then pick the payout — 💵 a dollar amount or 🎁 a reward in your own words.
  2. 2
    Kids ask: on their board, they tap + Ask for an extra chore, say what they’ll do and what they want for it. It shows up on your kid’s page as a request to approve.
  3. 3
    The other side accepts or declines. Kids get a big “New offer! 🎉” card on their board; parents see requests under “[name] is asking.”
  4. 4
    Accepted chores land in the Extra section of the kid’s board with the payout shown right on it. The kid checks it off like any other chore.
What an offer looks like on the kid's board:

New offer! 🎉

Clean the garage+$5.00
I'll do it!No thanks
Extra chores don’t affect the daily/weekly progress bars — they’re pure bonus. Completed ones clear at the Monday reset, and every accepted or declined deal shows under History (this week) on the kid’s page. The payout itself happens in real life — ChoreDeck keeps track of the deal, you hand over the cash (or the screen time).

6. Locking a family device in kid mode

Handing a tablet or phone to the kids? Lock it in kid mode so they can’t wander back into your parent dashboard.

  1. 1
    In kid mode, on the “Who’s here?” screen, tap 🔓 Lock device (top right).
  2. 2
    Set a grown-up PIN (don’t use a kid’s PIN!). The screen now shows 🔒 Locked.
  3. 3
    From now on, tapping Exit asks for that PIN before returning to the parent dashboard. Kids can still switch between their own boards freely.
  4. 4
    To remove the lock, tap 🔒 Locked and enter the PIN.
The lock is per-device — set it on the kitchen tablet without affecting your own phone. If you ever forget the lock PIN, clearing the browser’s site data removes it (your account and data are unaffected — the real key is always your email + password).

7. Putting ChoreDeck on a phone or tablet

ChoreDeck installs straight from the browser — no app store needed. You get a real home-screen icon that opens full-screen.

iPhone / iPad

  1. Open choredeck.com in Safari
  2. Tap the Share button (□↑)
  3. Tap "Add to Home Screen" → Add

Android

  1. Open choredeck.com in Chrome
  2. Tap the "Install app" prompt
  3. Or: menu ⋮ → "Add to Home screen"

Computer

  1. Open choredeck.com in Chrome or Edge
  2. Click the install icon in the address bar
  3. Click Install
Setting up a kid’s device: install the app, log in with your parent account once, open Kid mode, and set the device lock (section 6). The login sticks — from then on the icon opens straight to the kid picker, no password needed.

8. FAQs

▸Do my kids need their own accounts or email addresses?
No. Kids are profiles inside your parent account — no email, no password, just an optional PIN. You log in; they tap their name.
▸Can my kid use ChoreDeck on their own phone or tablet?
Yes. Install ChoreDeck on their device (section 7), log in with your parent account once, open Kid mode, and set the device lock (section 6) so they stay in kid mode. The login sticks — from then on, tapping the icon goes straight to their chore board. No kid account needed.
▸My kid forgot their PIN. What now?
Open their card from your dashboard — the PIN field is right there. Tap Show to see it, or type a new one and save.
▸I forgot my password.
On the login page, tap Forgot password? and we’ll email you a reset link.
▸When do chores reset?
Every Monday the week starts fresh automatically. Daily chores un-check each day. You can also manually reset the current week from a kid’s page.
▸How does allowance work?
You set a weekly allowance per kid; it’s shown on their board so they connect chores with earning. Extra-chore payouts are shown separately on each extra chore, not added into the allowance number. (Richer earning history and streaks are coming soon.)
▸Do extra chores count toward the progress bars?
No — extras are pure bonus. The Daily and Weekly progress bars only track regular chores, so an extra chore never makes the week look unfinished.
▸What happens to declined extra-chore offers and requests?
They move to History (this week) on the kid’s page, marked Accepted or Declined. Like the chore boards, history starts fresh every Monday.
▸What does “Disable” do on a chore?
It pauses the chore — hidden from your kid’s board but kept in your list (with its history) so you can re-enable it anytime. Handy for seasonal chores.
▸Can I use ChoreDeck on more than one device?
Yes — log in anywhere. Changes sync automatically, so a chore checked off on the tablet shows up on your phone right away.
▸Does it work offline?
ChoreDeck needs an internet connection to load and save checkoffs. If you’re offline you’ll see a friendly offline page until you reconnect.
▸Is my family's data private?
Yes. Every family’s data is isolated at the database level — your account can only ever see your own kids and chores. Passwords are stored securely hashed, and everything travels over HTTPS.

Still stuck? We’re happy to help — email us.

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