Age-Appropriate Chores to Teach Your Kids

Starting from a young age, kids can learn how to do age-appropriate chores and help around the home. Help your child learn to care for their living space with helpful tasks.

Your little one is growing fast, so it’s time to introduce chores to their daily routine. Before assigning the kids their tasks, you must ensure that each job is appropriate for their age group, such as washing dishes or putting their toys away. Here’s a list of age-appropriate chores to teach your kids.

age appropriate chores to teach your kids

Ages 2 to 3

Parents should introduce the idea of cleaning up to their children when they reach this age. It’s essential to start with basic tasks and support kids as they learn to clean.

Learning how to clean is a crucial step in a child’s development, as they get introduced to the ideas of responsibility and cleanliness. It’s important to start them while they’re young so that they can do these chores independently by the time they enter preschool.

Here are some examples of tasks for your toddler to do:

Cleaning up their toys
Wiping away spills
Putting books and magazines into piles

Ages 4 to 5

Once they’ve reached preschool age, it’s time to introduce other chores that they can add to their daily to-do list. In this age bracket, children show more curiosity and often ask parents or other adults why they need to do something in a certain way.

By asking questions and watching adults, children learn the importance of cleaning and doing a chore in a way that works for them.

Here are age-appropriate chores to practice with your child:

Matching socks
Using a cloth for dusting
Filling a pet’s food and water bowl

Ages 6 to 9

Around this age group, you can introduce children to more complex tasks like laundry and washing dishes. Things like folding clothes teach kids to put things away neatly.

If you haven’t decided whether to fold or hang your baby’s onesies, this is perfect for teaching your child how to fold and hang baby clothes.

Some other age-appropriate chores you can teach the kids:

Wiping off the counters
Helping cook dinner
Emptying all indoor garbage cans

Ages 10 to 13

At around this time, kids can do tasks with hardly any supervision. This can be the moment where you let your children pick their chores to do for the day or week. Additionally, you can discuss earning an allowance every week if they complete their tasks.

Here are examples of chores kids can do on their own:

Babysitting younger siblings
Taking both indoor and outdoor trash out
Cooking for themselves

Ages 14 and Up

At the age of 14 and up, kids learn about independence. This is when you can encourage children to make mistakes and learn from them. Talk with your teen about doing chores in their own time to help them become more responsible and independent.

Some example chores include:

Cleaning the fridge
Doing yardwork
Doing their own laundry

While teaching your kids age-appropriate chores to complete at home, it’s essential to let them make mistakes and learn from them. Grow with your children and show them the valuable lessons they can learn from performing basic tasks fit for their age.