ChoreSparkAge-Appropriate Chores for Kids: A Practical Starting Guide
Choose a first chore from what your child can already do, with example tasks by age, a simple way to teach any job, and clear safety guidance.
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Key takeaways
- Age lists are a menu of ideas. What your child can already do matters more than a birthday.
- Start with one task your child can nearly manage, then build from there.
- Teach any chore in four stages: show it, do it together, watch, then hand it over.
- Adults choose and store cleaning products and detergent packets, and stay close for sharp tools, heat and mowers until a child has shown they can manage.
- Expect uneven results at first. Praise the effort while the skill grows.
There is no birthday on which a child becomes ready for chores. Children the same age are not all ready for the same jobs, and a task that comes easily to one five-year-old can frustrate another.
Age lists are still useful as a starting point. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (opens in a new tab) notes that research suggests there are benefits to including chores in a child’s routine from as early as age 3, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (opens in a new tab) describes chores as a way for children to learn life skills and how to cooperate with a group. This guide uses their published examples as a menu, then covers how to choose a first chore, how to teach it, and where adults need to stay in charge.
Start with ability, not age alone
Before choosing a first chore, look at what your child already does on their own. A child who carefully lines up toy cars may enjoy matching socks. A child who likes being near you in the kitchen may be ready to carry napkins to the table. Starting close to something they can already do makes an early success more likely.
Questions to ask before choosing a first chore
- Can they manage each step physically: the reach, the grip, the weight?
- Can they remember the steps, or would a picture or a short list help?
- Can they stay with a task for a few minutes?
- Does the task involve cleaning products, blades, heat or heavy lifting?
- Is it a real job that helps the household?
- Have they already shown an interest in it?
Choose a task where most of the answers point the right way, with one small stretch. A task that is far out of reach tends to end in frustration for everyone. Real jobs matter here. The examples ZERO TO THREE (opens in a new tab) gives of doing things together with a very young child are ordinary household tasks, such as setting the table, cleaning up toys or washing the car.
Example chores by age
The examples below draw on lists published by the AAP on HealthyChildren.org and by AACAP, with a few common household tasks added. The age bands are rough, and they overlap on purpose. Treat them as ideas to try rather than a test your child should pass.
About 2 to 3 years
At this age a chore is something you do side by side.
- Put toys back in a bin.
- Put away unbreakable groceries on a low shelf.
- Drop dirty clothes into the hamper.
- Sort laundry by putting socks in one basket and shirts in another.
- Carry napkins to the table.
- Wipe up a small spill of water with a cloth.
ZERO TO THREE suggests turning cleanup into a game at this age, such as taking turns putting toys back on the shelf.
About 4 to 5 years
- Help feed a pet, with an adult checking the amount.
- Make their bed, not perfectly.
- Help clear the table after meals.
- Set out napkins, cups and spoons.
- Water plants with a small watering can.
- Put clean socks and pajamas away in a drawer.
The CDC’s positive parenting tips for preschoolers (opens in a new tab) include letting your child help with simple chores and giving a limited number of simple choices, which fits well here: “Do you want to feed the fish or water the plant?”
About 6 to 8 years
- Make their bed and keep dirty clothes in the hamper.
- Set and clear the table.
- Wipe tables and counters.
- Put their clean laundry away.
- Sweep a floor.
- Empty small wastebaskets.
- Help pack their school lunch.
- Help load and unload the dishwasher, leaving sharp knives and the detergent for an adult.
About 9 to 12 years
- Vacuum a room.
- Help make dinner, with an adult close by for anything involving the stove or knives.
- Make their own snack.
- Walk the dog.
- Put groceries away.
- Change their bedsheets.
- Wash and fold a load of laundry, once they have been shown how, with an adult handling any detergent packets.
- Clean the bathroom, using a product an adult has chosen and set out.
- Do yard work such as raking leaves or weeding.
The AAP’s examples for children aged 11 and 12 include cooking a simple meal with supervision, and watching younger siblings with an adult present at home. Both details matter: at this age the adult is still close by.
Teens
- Vacuum shared spaces such as the living room, hallways and stairs.
- Clean the kitchen after a meal.
- Do their own laundry from start to finish.
- Help with the grocery shopping.
- Take care of a pet, including feeding and grooming.
- Wash the car.
- Mow the lawn, once they are old enough and have been taught. See the safety section below.
- Help look after younger siblings.
The AAP’s guidance on chores for teens (opens in a new tab) makes a fair point: a teen who can operate a smartphone can figure out the washing machine, the oven and the dishwasher. It also notes that a part-time job or a busy practice schedule is not a reason to stop contributing at home.
How to teach a new chore
Most chores have more steps than they seem to. Folding a towel means finding the corners, lining them up, folding twice and knowing where it goes. Teaching in stages makes those hidden steps visible.
- Show it. Do the task while your child watches, and name each step in a few words: “Corners together. Fold in half. Again. Onto the pile.”
- Do it together. Split the job. You take the tricky part, and they do the part they can manage.
- Watch. They do the whole task while you stay close. Coach one thing at a time, and resist taking over.
- Hand it over. They do it on their own. Check at the end at first, then less often.
Some tasks move through those stages in a day. Others take weeks. Going back a stage when something is not working is a normal part of learning.
Example: learning to set the table
On Monday, a six-year-old watches a parent set the table and hears each step named: “Plate in front of the chair. Fork on the left. Cup at the top.” On Tuesday they set it together. The parent carries the glasses, and the child places the forks and napkins.
By Thursday the child sets the table while the parent cooks nearby, and the only coaching is “Check the forks” when two land on the wrong side. The next week, setting the table is simply the child’s job before dinner, and the parent takes a quick look once the food is ready.
Try saying
Instead of
No, not like that.
Try
Nearly. Fold it once more so it fits in the drawer.
Instead of
Here, let me just do it.
Try
You do the pillowcases, and I’ll do the big sheet.
Instead of
That’s still messy.
Try
The books are all on the shelf. Now let’s do the cars.
Expect uneven results for a while. AACAP’s own example for children aged 4 and 5 is making their beds, “maybe not perfectly,” and the AAP advises praising the effort in each task rather than the outcome, and not expecting perfection, because children develop these skills over time.
Agree on what done looks like
A child cannot meet a standard they have never been shown. Describe the finish line in words your child could repeat back: “The bed is done when the pillow is at the top and the blanket covers the sheet.” For a child who cannot read yet, a photo of the finished job makes a good reminder. The CDC (opens in a new tab) suggests pictures and visual cues on charts for toddlers and preschoolers, because many cannot read yet.
Supervision and safety
Whatever a child’s age, some decisions stay with an adult: which products are used, where they are stored, and when a child is ready to use a tool or appliance without you nearby. The guidance below comes from the AAP, Nemours KidsHealth and a state health department, and it applies whether a child is helping with a job or simply nearby.
Cleaning and laundry products
- Store cleaning and laundry products, including detergent packets, in their original packaging in locked cabinets, out of sight and reach of children, as the AAP recommends (opens in a new tab). Never put a product into a food or drink container.
- Take extra care with laundry detergent packets. The AAP warns (opens in a new tab) that even a small amount of the concentrated detergent inside a packet, in a child’s mouth or eyes, can cause serious breathing or stomach problems, eye injuries, coma or death. Never let children handle or play with packets, keep them in a high, locked cabinet, and take one out of its container only when you are ready to put it in the machine. If children aged 6 or younger live in or visit your home, the AAP suggests traditional detergent instead of packets.
- Never mix cleaning products. The Washington State Department of Health (opens in a new tab) warns that mixing bleach with ammonia, acids or other cleaners can cause serious injuries.
- If a child swallows a product, take it away, have them spit out what is left, and do not make them vomit. If it gets on their skin, remove their clothes and rinse the skin with lukewarm water for at least 15 minutes. If it gets in their eyes, hold the eyelid open and pour a steady stream of room temperature water into the inner corner for 15 minutes. If they breathe in fumes, get them into fresh air. Call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 in the United States, and if they are unconscious, not breathing, or having convulsions or seizures, call 911. These steps come from the AAP’s poison prevention guidance.
A practical way to let children help with cleaning: an adult chooses the product, sets out only what is needed, and puts the bottle away straight afterward. Many first jobs, such as wiping a table, need nothing more than a damp cloth.
Sharp tools, heat and appliances
- Children need supervision in the kitchen. Nemours KidsHealth (opens in a new tab) suggests setting kitchen rules, such as washing hands and not touching stove knobs or knives, and talking about which kitchen tasks are for grown-ups and which are for kids.
- Keep knives, scissors and other sharp instruments separate from the everyday utensils, and turn pot handles toward the back of the stove, as the AAP’s kitchen safety tips (opens in a new tab) advise.
- The same tips say that if the microwave is within a young child’s reach, stay nearby while it is on and never let the child open it or take out food or drinks that have finished heating.
- They also advise knowing where your child is before you carry anything hot, never leaving the oven door open, and unplugging appliances with their cords out of reach.
- For mowing, the AAP says (opens in a new tab) children should be at least 12 to operate a walk-behind power mower and at least 16 for a ride-on mower. Age alone is not enough: a child should also show the maturity, good judgment, strength and coordination the job requires, and wear hearing and eye protection and sturdy shoes that cover the toes. Show them how to mow safely and supervise until you are sure they can manage alone, keep younger children indoors or well away, and never let a child ride as a passenger.
None of these sources gives a single age for using a knife or the stove, and readiness varies from child to child. A sensible path is to start with a lower-risk version of the task, such as spreading with a butter knife or stirring cold ingredients, show it several times, and stay in the room until you are confident.
Adapting chores for different abilities
Most adjustments belong in the task rather than in the expectation. A few ways to adapt:
- Break it down. Teach one step at a time, and show each step with a photo or a simple drawing.
- Change the tools. A shorter broom, a lighter basket, a sponge that fits a small hand, or a step stool with an adult beside it.
- Change the setup. Bins at a height they can reach, hooks instead of hangers, and labels with pictures.
- Match the job to strengths. Sorting, matching, carrying and checking are all real contributions.
- Keep it predictable. Do the task at the same time and in the same order, and allow extra time.
- Ask the people who know your child. An occupational therapist, a teacher or your child’s pediatrician can suggest adjustments that suit your child.
A printable starter checklist
Print this and keep it wherever you plan the week. Work through it for one chore at a time, then come back to it for the next.
Your first chore, step by step
- Chose one task my child can nearly do already
- Checked the task for cleaning products, blades, heat and heavy lifting
- Put supplies within reach, and anything hazardous out of reach
- Decided what done looks like, in one sentence
- Showed the task, then did it together
- Watched them do it, coaching one thing at a time
- Named one specific thing they did well
- Picked a regular time for it each day or week
- Set a date two weeks from now to add a step or a new task
Sources
- Chores and Children (opens in a new tab)American Academy of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryExample chores by age from 2 to 3 years into the teens, research suggesting benefits from as early as age 3, and beds made “maybe not perfectly.”
- Age-Appropriate Chores for Children (opens in a new tab)American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.orgExample chores for ages 5 to 12, including supervised cooking and watching siblings with an adult at home, chores as a way to learn life skills, praising effort, and not expecting perfection.
- Household Chores for Teens (opens in a new tab)American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.orgExample chores for teens, and busy teens still contributing at home.
- Tips on Helping Your Child Learn to Cooperate (opens in a new tab)ZERO TO THREEVery young children helping with real household tasks such as setting the table and cleaning up toys, and making cleanup a game.
- Positive Parenting Tips: Preschoolers (3 to 5 years old) (opens in a new tab)Centers for Disease Control and PreventionLetting preschoolers help with simple chores, and offering a limited number of simple choices.
- Tips for Creating Rules (opens in a new tab)Centers for Disease Control and PreventionPictures and visual cues on charts for toddlers and preschoolers who cannot read yet.
- Poison Prevention & Treatment Tips for Parents (opens in a new tab)American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.orgStoring cleaning and laundry products, never using food or drink containers, first steps after a swallow, skin, eye or fume exposure, Poison Help, and when to call 911.
- Laundry Room and Detergent Safety (opens in a new tab)American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.orgThe danger of detergent packets, never letting children handle them, how to store them, and choosing traditional detergent when young children are in the home.
- Dangers of Mixing Bleach with Cleaners (opens in a new tab)Washington State Department of HealthNever mixing bleach with ammonia, acids or other cleaners.
- Kitchen Safety: 10 Tips for Families With Young Children (opens in a new tab)American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.orgStoring sharp instruments, turning pot handles back, microwave safety for young children, carrying hot liquids, oven doors and appliance cords.
- Cooking With Kids (opens in a new tab)Nemours KidsHealthSupervising children in the kitchen, and kitchen rules for kids.
- Lawn Mower Safety: Information for Families (opens in a new tab)American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.orgMinimum ages for operating mowers, the maturity and protective gear the job requires, teaching and supervision, and no child passengers.
