I tell my kids that if they forget a daily task on a daily basis, they are not forgetting, they are avoiding.

I also agree with farmschool and martinbeef. I think missing a meal would be a just consequence of not feeding the animal(s).

From the time our dc were young and we were training them, this Bible verse was ingrained in them:

"If a man won't work, he won't eat."

Of course they weren't adults and we didn't expect adult responsibilities from them. But we did train them to do their part. They learned that everyone working together can actually be fun. My dear grandma's adage -- "Many hands make light work" -- was also a basic part of their training.

You could always start forgetting to make them lunch or dinner. LOL! Ok, I'm not helpful.

What I would do is enact a new rule that states nothing gets done until their jobs are done. If that's possible meaning there are not too many jobs. If it's just watering the chickens and collecting eggs, I'd say, "New rule is you water the chickens and collect the eggs first thing in the morning before you eat breakfast. Period." After awhile, they will just get used to the routine.

If my dc forget after a gentle reminder, then they write out the chore they missed twenty times.

I can't help you since I don't give my kiddos chores. But I do ask for help a lot. And when I ask, that means now. So there are no reminders needed. Unfortunately, my method is only good if you have 1 kiddo living at home at a time.

Poor chickens. I hope they got some water.

Thanks for the suggestions. Just made the charts for the week. I prefer to have it written down so that I don't have to think to much during the week, haha! I am going to go ahead and have the animals taken care of before breakfast as some have suggested. I did that last year, but somehow, we stopped doing that!
The chickens are fine, by the way!
Thanks again-Lily

I know this thread is old...but I am frustrated today with my forgetful teen son. Today, before he went into his piano teacher's house, I handed him a check to give her for the lessons. When he got back into the car afterwards, I asked him if he had given her the check (and I shouldn't have even had to ask-I should have been able to TRUST that he did so) and of course, he had forgotten to give it to her. He is now writing lines, and will be paying for his next lesson himself. I worry about his future-what if he has a job, and forgets something important???

I worry about his future-what if he has a job, and forgets something important???

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<big grin> I do think I know how you feel, but please don't worry, as that is the built-in factor of the Real World: people learn really fast, if they haven't already. I have four brothers and I saw the "forgetfulness" in three of the four but guess what? : in the Real World, they managed Really Well With A Few Initial Glitches, Like - Just One! LOL That's how quickly men catch on; men are usually pretty kinesthetic, hands-on type of people anyway, and the real world application and consequences makes sense for them immediately.

(Btw......<another grin>.....what's more likely in a "forgetful" person is that they'll do fine **at work** where a job and a salary are stake, and continue to "forget" the things that are less consequential, at home. Their wife will figure out a way to make a honey-do list that is memorable and doable.) :-)