Age-appropriate chores
62 chores across 7 age bands. The ages a job is commonly started at, not an assessment of any child.
Ages 2 to 3
Done alongside an adult. Expect it slow, messy and half finished — at this age the point is joining in, not the result.
- Put the toys in the box · Every day
- Clothes in the laundry basket · Every day
- Books back on the shelf · Every day
- Wipe a spill with a cloth · Every day
- Carry the unbreakables to the table · Mon, Wed, Fri
- Sweep with the small brush · Sat
Ages 4 to 5
Two or three steps, remembered with a reminder. This is the age a picture on the chart earns its place.
- Make the bed · Every day
- Get dressed on your own · Every day
- Set the table · Every day
- Clear your plate · Every day
- Feed the pet · Every dayMeasure the food out first — the job is carrying it, not judging how much.
- Water the plants · Sat
- Sort the laundry by colour · Sat
- Tidy the bedroom before bed · Every day
- Put the low-shelf shopping away · Sat
Ages 6 to 8
Longer jobs, less watching. The work is real now, and so is redoing it in front of them — do not.
- Load the dishwasher · Every day
- Unload the dishwasher · Every day
- Fold the towels and t-shirts · Wed, Sun
- Take out the small bins · Tue, Fri
- Wipe the bathroom sink · Sat
- Sweep the kitchen floor · Thu, Sun
- Wash the vegetables · Mon, Thu
- Make your own snack · Every day
- Put your own things away · Every day
- Rake or weed the garden · Sat
Ages 9 to 11
Most household jobs, to a reasonable standard, with the occasional reminder.
- Cook a simple meal · WedHob and oven with an adult in the room until it is dull to watch.
- Run a full load of laundry · Sat
- Vacuum the living room · Thu, Sun
- Clean the bathroom · Sat
- Take out all the bins and recycling · Tue, Fri
- Help with the grocery shop · Sat
- Run the dishwasher cycle · Every day
- Walk the dog · Every day
- Clean the pet bowls or the litter tray · Mon, Thu
- Mow the lawn · SatAfter being shown, with shoes on, and never with anybody else on the grass.
Ages 12 to 14
Adult-quality work on most of the house, plus the beginnings of running part of it.
- Cook dinner for the family · Wed
- Do your own laundry start to finish · Sun
- Deep clean the oven or the fridge · SatRead what is on the bottle before it is opened, and open a window.
- Clean the windows · Sat
- Mind a younger sibling for an hour · Fri
- Walk or cycle to the shop for an errand · Sat
- Change a bulb, tighten a screw · Sat
- Put your own week in the calendar · Sun
- Mop the floors · Sat
Ages 15 to 17
The practice years. These are the jobs that have to be automatic before somebody moves out.
- Do the grocery shop to a budget · Sat
- Plan and cook two meals this week · Tue, Thu
- Book your own appointments · Mon
- Write down what you spent this week · Sun
- Take a sibling to their activity · Sat
- Paint or patch whatever needs it · Sat
- Change the bedding, yours and the spare · Sun
- Sort the recycling and the returns · Fri
Adults
The jobs that run the household rather than tidy it. A chart with no adult row on it teaches the wrong lesson.
- Plan the week's meals · Sun
- Do the main grocery shop · Sat
- Cook dinner · Every day
- Wash up after dinner · Every day
- Put a wash on · Mon, Thu
- Clean the bathroom properly · Sat
- Vacuum through the house · Thu, Sun
- Change the beds · Sun
- Pay the bills and check the account · Mon
- Put the bins out · Tue, Fri
Free printable chore chart by Homsy