Age Appropriate Chores For Kids

Every parent feels the responsibility to prepare their children for adulthood. Part of that preparation includes teaching the concept of responsibility, as well as hands on experience with certain tasks. Assigning age appropriate household chores is a great way to accomplish both of these things. This is not typically well received by most kids and it may seem easier for you to just do them yourself at first, but that wouldn't really benefit anyone.

You have to keep in mind that your kids will be better off, not only as adults, but as they are growing up, with the experience of responsibility and accomplishment. Lifting some of the burden of the household chores off of you isn't really the primary purpose, although that will be a benefit eventually. Teaching your child how to take care of a home is great preparation for when they are living on their own and the responsibility they learn prepares them for taking on any task.

Motivating your kids to take on the household chores will probably be the most difficult part.

Just as you would assign age appropriate chores, you will need age appropriate rewards. When they are very young, verbal praise or a little one-on-one playtime is a great reward. As they get older, especially the teenage years, they will want cash. You will need to determine which tasks are expected of them without an allowance, like making the bed, keeping their room picked up, taking care of their own dishes or brushing their teeth. While some praise and even rewards may be necessary to establish these habits for young children, eventually they should just be expected. Rewarded chores should contribute to the entire household.

Below is a list of age appropriate chores, but these are general categorizations. Every child is different and may be ready to take on particular chores earlier or later than other children the same age. Some are daily and some are weekly. The chore list is meant to provide helpful guidelines, not rigid ones.

2 to 5 Years

Put toys away
Put dirty clothes in basket
Help set the table
Clear their dirty dishes
Put away clean clothes
Dust
Put away books, movies, games, etc.
Water plants
Sort laundry

5 to 9 Years

Feed pets
Make the bed
Dust mop the floor
Collect and take out the trash
Clean trash out of the car
Clean up the bedroom
Fold clean clothes
Wipe fingerprints off of doors
Help prepare meals
Put dishes in the dishwasher
Basic yard work- rake, sweep, weed
Put away groceries
Straighten up closets

9 to 13 Years

Make lunch for school
Vacuum and mop
Put away clean dishes
Clean bathrooms- toilets, sinks, showers
Change bed sheets

13 and Older

Prepare meals
Mow the lawn
Do laundry
Clean up the garage
Clean the kitchen

This list isn't exhaustive and you are the best person to determine when your child is ready to handle a particular task. As your child gets older, the variety of tasks they can handle increases since they can certainly be responsible for tasks from their current age group and younger. You might set a certain number of chores they are responsible for but allow them to choose which chores they will have that week from the list. A little variety will broaden their learning experience and keep the chores from getting too mundane.

Determining how many chores your child should be responsible for will also depend on the child and their age. Unless you have a small army of children, the majority of the chores will belong to (guess who?) you.

2 to 5 years: 2-3 chores
5 to 9 years: 3-5 chores
9 to 13 years: 5-7 chores
13 and up: 7-10 chores

Once again, this just a guideline. For older kids, keeping their room clean and clearing their own dishes should be expected and not considered household chores. Of course, they may ask for more chores in exchange for greater rewards (more cash).