Chores on the doors
Skoda app sees parents trade lifts for jobs around the home
IT’S the most rewarding job on the planet, but parenting is hard work. Early wake-ups and broken nights are familiar when kids are really young, while exam stress and growing pains from older children are inevitably passed up the generational chain. Estimates and lifestyles vary, but some researchers say that mums and dads can put up to 97 hours a week into parenting activities.
But what if the tables were turned? What if children could be put to work for their parents, with the tasks mum and dad carry out on their behalf being repaid by household chores undertaken by kids?
Skoda has come up with just such an idea in the shape of its Parent Taxi app. The concept is simple: each time you take your children somewhere in the car, a debt is created. This can then be settled by them performing a household task. The more outings, and the longer the journeys involved, the greater the number of chores due.
Auto Express was handed the keys to a Kodiaq vRS and we downloaded the app to find out if children really could be persuaded to sing for their supper.
Trip 1: Swimming
MY two boys, Theo, six, and William, three, aren’t of an age where they require rescuing from late-night parties, but there are still trips to be made. Theo’s swimming lesson is our first outing and he’s immediately taken by the Kodiaq, and its exhaust symposer in particular.
“Can you wind the windows down for this tunnel, please?”, he asks. Who can resist such a request? I lower the windows, stick the car in Sport mode, drop down a couple of gears, and the symposer’s synthetic but amusing V8 growl fills the tunnel.
The swimming lesson goes well and, on returning home, we consult the app to find out what’s owed.
Chore 1: Change sheets
LIVING in London means this is a short, six-mile round trip, so Theo only has one chore to perform. Scrolling through the list he chooses his sheets, and gets going.
Loud noises from the first floor prompt me to follow upstairs, where I find Theo engaged in some vigorous bed jumping – a vital prelude to any sheet-changing activity, it would seem. Soon enough (admittedly with a little assistance) we have a chore ticked off the list.
Trip 2: BMX track
A TRIP to the local BMX track is requested that same day, and with the Kodiaq drawing Theo’s and William’s eyes,
“Each time you drive your child somewhere, the debt is repaid in the form of a household task”
Chore 2: Empty dishwasher
THE Parent Taxi app lets you vary how many miles need to be covered before a chore is due, from one to 15 miles per chore. But even at the shortest distance, the trip to the BMX track creates a single debt. William nominates himself to empty the dishwasher, a job carried out with great amusement and not a little assistance.
Trip 3: Park visit
SUNDAY sees the boys leap at the idea of taking their R/C cars to another park. William’s, Theo’s and my cars are loaded into the Kodiaq, and we’re off. Once there, we drive the cars until theirs and the boys’ batteries run out, but on returning to the Skoda I realise I neglected to activate the Taxi app, so our journey wasn’t logged. No matter – it’s a fourmile trip home, which is the default distance for creating one chore, so we simply decide each boy can carry out a task.
Chore 3: Vacuum
THE boys opt to mop and vacuum. Like any endeavour involving electric appliances that are normally the preserve of grown-ups, the vacuum cleaner is in high demand. Theo lets his little brother take control of the hoovering, though, while he gets on with the important business of mopping. The floor isn’t spotless when they decide they’ve had enough, but it’s far cleaner than it was, while mum and dad are more than happy to have dodged these chores.
Trip 4: Beavers and Scouts
THEO and William walk to school during the week, but Theo is a keen Beaver Scout, so the Kodiaq keys come out again after school. “It’s got Alcantara seats and a fake exhaust sound,” Theo explains to his friend and fellow Scout Benji who, while not sharing Theo’s love of all things four-wheeled, is impressed by the Kodiaq’s panoramic sunroof nonetheless.
Chore 4: Cut grass
THE trip to Scouts is another short one, creating just a single chore, which Theo happily agrees to take for the team. The hustle and bustle of the working week mean we defer the debt to Saturday, with Theo gleefully selecting grass cutting from the list.
This is a task he enjoys immensely. It requires strict parental enthusiasm but Theo is something of an old hand, which means he’s able to aim the mower true enough to generate some neat stripes.