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How to use ChoreStar

A friendly walkthrough for the whole family — set up chores, earn points, and redeem rewards. This guide covers both the parent and the kid experience. Swipe right to begin.

For parents

Getting started

When you open ChoreStar you'll see a welcome screen with two doors: one for parents and one for kids. Parents tap Parent sign in / sign up to manage the family. Kids use Scan my QR code (more on that below).

1 Choose how you'll sign in

Tap Parent sign in / sign up to create or open your account. The big page heading and clean cards work the same on a phone or in a web browser.

ChoreStar welcome screen with parent and kid options — The welcome screen

For parents

Create your parent account

Signing up takes two quick steps: enter your email to receive a 6-digit verification code, then confirm the code along with your name and a password.

2 Enter your email

Switch to the Sign up tab, type your email, and tap Send verification code. We'll email you a 6-digit code to confirm it's really you.

3 Confirm the code & set a password

Enter the 6-digit code from your inbox, add your name, and pick a password (6+ characters). Tap Create account and you're in.

Tip: Email verification keeps your family's data safe. The code expires shortly, so request a fresh one if it lapses.

Forgot your password? On the sign-in screen tap Forgot password? — we'll email you a 6-digit code to set a new one. For everyone's safety, resetting signs you out on all your other devices.

Verification code, name, and password fields — Step 2 — verify & create

For parents

Set up your family

4 Name your family & add a first kid

Give your family a name (e.g. "The Garcias") and add your first child's name. You can always add more kids later from the Kids section.

Family setup form with family name and kid name — One-time family setup

For parents

The parent dashboard

5 Your home base

The Home screen is mission control. The tab ribbon across the top switches between Home, Kids, Chores, Rewards and History, and each tab carries a count so you can see your family at a glance. Anything waiting on you — completed chores, chore suggestions, reward requests — lands in a single Needs your review queue on Home, newest first, and the Home tab shows a badge while it isn't empty.

Parent home dashboard with navigation cards — Home dashboard

For parents

Add chores

Open the Chores tab and you land straight on your current chores — no extra menu to tap through.

6 Your current chores

The Chores screen lists everything that's already set up. Use the icon-only buttons to edit (✏️) or archive (🗄️) any chore — archived chores are hidden from the active list but kept in history (tap Archived to view and restore them with ♻️). Tap ➕ Add a chore at the top to create a new one.

Tip: Points are the only currency in ChoreStar — no money involved. Pick values that feel fair for your family.

7 Fill in the chore

Give it a title, set how many points it's worth, choose a frequency (Daily / Weekly), and optionally assign it to a specific kid with a reminder day. Need ideas? Tap Pick from suggestions 💡. Then tap Add chore ➕.

Add chore form with title, points, and frequency — Adding a chore

For parents

Set up rewards

Open the Rewards tab to land on your active reward shop. Rewards are what kids "buy" with the points they earn.

8 Your reward shop

Active rewards appear in the shop kids can browse. Edit (✏️) or archive (🗄️) any reward; archived ones are hidden from kids but kept in history (tap Archived to view and restore them with ♻️).

9 Add a reward

Tap ➕ Add a reward at the top, name it (e.g. "30 min screen time"), and set its point cost. Tap Add reward 🎁.

For parents

Kids & QR login codes

Open the Kids tab to see each child's point balance and their personal QR login code.

11 See your kids

Each kid card shows their current point balance. This is also where you add more kids.

Kids tab showing a kid and point balance — The Kids section

12 Show the login QR

Tap Show login QR. Your child scans this code with any phone camera to open the app and log in automatically — no password for them to remember. If a code is ever leaked, tap Generate a new QR.

Kid login QR code — A kid's personal QR code

For parents

Approve completed chores

8 Review & award points

When a child marks a chore done or suggests a new one, a review prompt appears on your Home screen. Tap Approve ✅ to award the points — or to turn a suggestion into a real chore (you set its points first). The child's balance updates automatically.

Nothing slips through: pending chores stay flagged on Home until you approve or decline them, so you're always in control of what counts.

For parents

Invite a co-parent

Both parents can manage the family together. The family owner can invite up to two co-parents from ⚙️ Settings → Partners (co-parents).

9 Invite a partner

In Settings, enter your partner's email under Partners (co-parents) and tap Send invite. We'll email them a link to join — if they don't have a ChoreStar account yet, they can create one and are added to your family automatically. Once they join they can approve chores, manage rewards, and view history — just like you. Pending invites show in Settings until accepted (you can cancel them there).

Tip: Only the family owner can add or remove partners. If you need to revoke access, tap the remove button next to their name in Settings.

For parents

In-app notifications

ChoreStar keeps everyone in the loop with a built-in activity feed — no need to check manually.

10 Stay up to date

When a kid finishes a chore, suggests a new one, or asks for a reward, a notification appears on your Home screen under 🔔 Recent activity. Kids see their own notifications too — like when a parent approves or rejects a chore.

Tap Mark all read to clear the badge. Notifications refresh every time you open the dashboard.

Coming soon: push notifications to your phone so you never miss an update, even when the app is closed.

For parents

Points history & CSV export

A bank-statement view of every point earned and spent — filter it, then take it with you.

11 Search the history

Open the History tab. Pick a date range (the last 30 days by default) and a kid — All kids or just one — then tap Search. Points earned show in green, points spent in red.

Tap ⬇️ Download CSV to save the results as a spreadsheet file — handy for allowance day or a monthly review. Kids can check their own history too, but only see their own activity.

Tip: on the free tier of the Android app, downloading the CSV plays a short sponsor video first; on the web it downloads right away.

For parents

Settings & themes

11 Make it yours

Tap the gear ⚙️ in the top-right. Pick a color theme (Green is the default — or Orange, Berry, Ocean, or a custom color of your own), choose your family's points icon (⭐ by default), change your password, or log out.

Approving chores & suggestions: when a child marks a chore done or suggests a new one, a review prompt appears on your Home screen. Tap Approve ✅ to award the points (or turn a suggestion into a real chore).

Settings screen with theme and points options — Settings

For parents

Free version & Premium

12 What's included

ChoreStar is free to use and supported by kid-safe ads. The free version covers 2 kids, 8 chores and 5 rewards in the mobile app, and 1 kid, 6 chores and 3 rewards on the web. Everything else — approvals, QR logins, points history, CSV export, co-parents, suggestions and reward requests — is included at no cost.

ChoreStar Premium is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. It removes ads for everyone in the family, children included, and makes kids, chores and rewards unlimited. Buy it from ⚙️ Settings → ChoreStar Premium; the price is shown in your local currency before you confirm.

Changed phone, or reinstalled? Tap Restore purchases in Settings. Premium belongs to the family, so co-parents and kids get it too — and there is nothing to renew or cancel.

Reached a limit? Nothing you have already created is ever removed. Archive a chore or reward you have finished with to free up a slot, or upgrade for unlimited.

For kids

Logging in as a kid

Kids never need a password. From the welcome screen they tap Scan my QR code 📷 and point their phone camera at the QR code their parent shows them. Scanning opens ChoreStar and logs them straight in to their own chores.

So easy: one scan and you're in — your name, your chores, your points, all ready to go.

For kids

Doing your chores

13 See your chores

Your My chores screen lists everything you can do to earn points, plus your current point total at the top.

14 Mark it done

Finished a chore? Tap I did it! ✅. It shows ⏳ Waiting for approval until a parent confirms, then your points are added automatically.

Chore marked done, waiting for approval — Waiting for a parent to approve

For kids

Suggesting a chore

15 Pitch a new chore

Got an idea? Type it in the suggestion box and tap Send to parent 📨. Your parent decides the points and approves it — then it becomes a real chore you can earn from.

Kid suggesting a new chore — Suggest a chore

For kids

Redeeming rewards

16 Spend your points

Open the Rewards tab to see the reward shop. When you have enough points, tap Redeem 🎁 — your points go down and your parent gets the heads-up to deliver the reward.

Keep going! The more chores you finish, the more points you bank toward bigger rewards.

Kid rewards redemption view — The reward shop

For kids

Asking for a reward

17 Ask a parent first

See a reward you want but prefer to check with a parent? Tap Ask a parent 🙋 instead of redeeming directly. Your parent gets a notification and can approve (which spends your points and grants the reward) or decline.

You can track your requests under My reward requests on the Rewards tab — each one shows whether it's pending, approved, or declined.

Good to know: You still need enough points for the reward when asking. If the parent approves, the points are spent automatically.

ChoreStar — chores, points & rewards for the whole family. ⭐