by Tina Bailey of Mothergeek
Today I’m sharing 30+ age-appropriate chores for kids. As a parent, our primary role is to teach our children how to look after themselves and how to become successful, independent adults. Making it in the big wide world is something that all children need to know how to do, no matter their age. After all, there’s something chronically embarrassing about heading off to uni or moving in with your friends, only to discover that you’ve no idea how to use the washing machine or clean out the vacuum cleaner.
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Age-Appropriate Chores for Kids
In this blog post, we’re going to be looking at age-appropriate chores for kids, working our way up from toddlers to teenagers. If you’ve been wondering what chores your children could help out with at home, take a look at the list of example chores below.
Age-appropriate chores for toddlers.
When it comes to age-appropriate chores for kids, toddlers often love the positive reinforcement that comes from helping out. Toddlers are able to complete simple tasks around the home, especially chores that concern their own possessions, such as toys.
Moreover, toddlers often love helping their grown-ups and flourish under the enthusiasm and praise that is given for helping. Toddlers learn from watching grown-ups, so be sure to take some time to help them perform some simple chores, such as:
- Putting their toys away.
- Taking their plate to the sink after dinner.
- Placing dirty laundry in the machine/washing basket.
- Putting books back onto the bookshelf.
- Filling up the family pet’s water/food bowl.
Age-appropriate chores for preschoolers.
When considering age-appropriate chores for kids, preschool aged children are still relatively eager to help their parents and grown-ups. This means there are plenty of chores that they will enjoy helping with. In fact, if they attend preschool, it’s likely that they’re being taught how to do simple chores that will help to tidy the setting at the end of the day.
Preschoolers are able to do some helpful chores around the house, such as:
- Help with gardening, such as pulling weeds or watering the flowers.
- Using a small, handheld vacuum to tidy up crumbs.
- Wiping surfaces down using a damp (chemical free) cloth.
- Help to sort laundry into dark and lights.
- Matching and pairing up socks.
- Help to bring light items from your food shop indoors.
- Use a sponge and washing up liquid to clean plastic plates and cups.
Preschoolers are learning to do these chores by copying adults, but it’s important to remember that they will still need supervision when carrying out these jobs around the house. Make sure that you don’t give your preschooler anything that can be dangerous to touch, such as cleaning chemicals, or ask them to wash up breakables such as glasses and cups.
Age-appropriate chores for school-aged children.
When it comes to age-appropriate chores for kids, primary school aged children are old enough to start taking on more responsibility. However, they are also at the age where they’re far less enthusiastic about the idea of carrying out chores.
Many primary aged children are at the developmental stage where they start to ‘rebel’ against the rules and push the boundaries, however assigning regular jobs that need to be carried out daily is a good way to ensure they still take on the responsibility without becoming resentful.
There are lots of chores that primary school aged children can help with, but here are just a few ideas to get you started:
- Vacuuming or sweeping the floors.
- Tidying their rooms and making their beds each morning.
- Folding and putting laundry away.
- Emptying and loading the dishwasher, or washing up ceramic crockery (it’s still best to avoid washing glass items due to slippery water).
- Help adults prepare meals.
- Prepare their own snacks, such as sandwiches or cutting up fruit.
- Empty kitchen bins and take them outside.
Age-appropriate chores for middle schoolers and preteens.
Age-appropriate chores for kids aged 10 – 13 usually come with more responsibility. At this age, children are usually able to perform many household chores, without the need to constantly be reminded or asked. A useful way to keep track of chores during this age range is to create a chore chart that offers some sort of incentive for children that carry out their assigned daily household chores.
Middle schoolers and preteens are at the age where they should be participating in chores that will help them to succeed in looking after themselves as they enter their teenage and young adult years.
Here are some things that middle schoolers and preteens should be able to do without supervision:
- Keep their bedrooms clean and tidy, including changing their beds and managing their possessions.
- Look after younger siblings at home (assuming the younger child is old enough).
- Use household appliances, such as the dishwasher and washing machine, without assistance .
- Sort out their own clothing – fold them and put them away neatly.
- Prepare simple meals without assistance.
Age-appropriate chores for teenagers.
For children aged 13+, there are plenty of age-appropriate chores for kids their age that should be easily carried out without assistance from adults. Children at this age should be able to carry out many of the chores that they will need to know how to perform in later life when they’re ready to live on their own. This also helps to free-up more of your time.
However, whilst they are still living at home, they should be able to participate in chores such as:
- Cleaning out cupboards, the fridge, and other kitchen appliances.
- Ironing their own clothing.
- Looking after younger siblings.
- Visiting the shop on their own to pick up essentials.
- Caring for the family pet independently, including cleaning, walking, and feeding.
- Cleaning toilets, showers, and the rest of the bathroom using cleaning products.
- Making more complex meals for themselves and the family.
Conclusion
If your child is old enough to walk, talk, and understand instruction, it presents you with a fantastic opportunity to start preparing them for the big wide world. Even young children are capable of participating in chores that help the other members of the household.
So even though, as children grow, they may become less enthusiastic about helping, chores are still an important part of life; it’s therefore imperative that parents teach their children how to effectively carry out these essential actions without the need for assistance. Do you agree with this list of age-appropriate chores for kids? Let me know your views in the comments.
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