Age Appropriate Chores for Kids (Toddler to Teen)

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Kristy Pepping said:  Although the entire house needs to be cleaned, bathrooms seem to get the dirtiest. A good chore for kids is to clean their bathroom. This includes clearing up any personal care products, wiping toothpaste from the countertops, replacing the toilet paper rolls and wiping down mirrors.

Slaya Shamai Weinberger said:  Each person takes their own plate, but the serving plates need to be brought back into the kitchen and the table wiped down.

Shila said:  Kids can put away the groceries. It's exciting to have first dibs at all the new treats, too! If you have multiple children, someone can be in charge of sorting the refrigerated food and another can be in charge of the pantry items. Remember, too, there's also a job waiting for someone to unload the groceries from the trunk of the car!

Shila said:  Give your children a few disinfectant wipes (i.e., Lysol or other more natural alternatives) and have them walk around the house wiping down commonly-touched surfaces like door handles, faucets, and drawer knobs. Not only is this a simple weekly task for kids, it promotes the understanding of safe hygiene and germ awareness.

Sarah Calamita said:  I have my 4 year old set the Alexa timer for as long as she wants (often she chooses a time longer than I would!) and then she has to pick up her toys for that amount of time.

Shila said:  Say goodbye to checking the mail everyday and assign this chore to a child. This is especially convenient for you. Your child can make this part of their routine when coming home from school, too. Older kids can even sort the mail into two piles, advertisements vs. direct envelopes.

Shila said:  Older kids and teens can begin to learn a valuable life skill by learning to the mow the lawn. Younger kids can also help out in the yard by pulling weeds or picking up sticks - always a favorite toddler activity!

Erika Garcia said:  Help fold their laundry and put it away.

Nelbc said:  My son helps with dinner; he asks his siblings what they want to drink, writes it down, brings it to the kitchen. When dinner is over he cleans up his area for him and his little brother. He is such a great helper, he is called the dinner helper. He loves it.

Shila said:  Kids can empty parts of the dishwasher so long as they can reach a drawer or the counter. Even if they can't reach the upper cupboards to put all the dishes away, they can still place and sort items on the counter for an adult to handle later.

If your kids are young, you can always put away the knives or any expensive glassware ahead of time, too.

Maria Granados said:  Kids can help wash the dishes!

Kelly R. said:  Setting the table and pouring drinks while mom or dad makes the family dinner is a great way for kids to help out at mealtime.

Marcia Alvarez Delgado said:  Cleaning the windows is a great one for the younger ones to spray and wipe.

Danielle DeVose said:  Kids can help wash windows and clean seats inside car!

Alexandra F. said:  Laundry is a wonderfully adaptable chore that kids of all ages can help with in some capacity. Toddlers and preschoolers can help put laundry into the washer and dryer and take it out again when it’s done, while elementary-school-aged kids can sort (if necessary), wash, dry and put away their clean clothes with varying degrees of help from you, depending on their age and capacity. Tweens and teens can probably handle everything on their own as long as you’ve shown them what to do beforehand.

Shila said:  Having a pet in your family, of course, requires many additional responsibilities to handling its care. Many of these tasks can be appropriate for kids to do on a daily or weekly basis. Young kids can easily be in charge of making sure the chew toys are picked up every night, simple grooming, dust vacuuming the couches, etc. While older kids and teens can be in charge of feeding, taking walks, emptying out litter boxes, etc.

Tera Lee Culverwell said:  Since there are rugs in more than one room, we give whichever one that is vacuuming more stars on their chore chart for doing the vacuuming. It makes them want to vacuum more and also sweep and mop.

Victoria Scott said:  My 10 year old has learned to cook simple things like scrambled eggs, cinnamon rolls, and brownies.

Whitney Chamberlain said:  My son is 12 and makes lunch for him and his sister daily.

Shannon Connerty said:  I let my daughter dust everything, its a good way to keep her moving.

Shila said:  A "room leader" can always be in charge of one particular shared room or area in your home. This person is responsible for its continual clean look and welcoming presence. Assign your children to be room leaders in any area of your home that's age appropriate for them to handle. For example, young children can handle the foyer; it's a small enough area that requires just putting shoes in a straight line. Older kids can be in charge of larger rooms like dining areas (i.e., pushing in chairs) or formal living rooms (i.e., fluffing pillows).

Teresa Jackson said:  We have a lot of land so I have the kids, 6 and 8, pick up a certain amount of sticks as they race to get it done.

Shila said:  Provide one large garbage bag to your child and have them enter every room in your home emptying out the individual trash cans.

Alexandra F. said:  When the indoor garbage or recycling bins get full, bigger kids can help take them outside to await trash collection day. And, when the day comes, they can help take the outdoor bin or bags out to the curb, too!

JoaquinVP said:  we!