Age Appropriate Chores For Children

11:04 AM

I am a strong believer in children having chores. I always had them growing up and I personally feel that they help children learn responsibility as well as respect for the home they live in and the people they live with. When everyone is collectively doing their part in a home, things run much smoother. One of the things I have struggled with over the years though is appropriate chores for each child as they entered a new age range. I figured others probably have this same dilemma, so I have put together a list of age appropriate chores for children.

3-5 Year Old's

This is a hard age range to assign chores for, because they are too small to do complicated things and their attention span is short. The best chores for them are ones that allow them to finish quickly and do not require too much skill. You also don't want them handling cleaner or having them work in places that are hard to reach.

Cleaning the table after a meal. This just means wiping the table off once the dishes have been cleared.
Picking up items off the floor.
Picking up toys in their own room.
Cleaning the bottom half of doors and walls when they are dirty with a wet cloth or magic eraser only.
Sweeping. While it may not be perfect, it is good practice for those soon entering the next age group.
Feeding the animals.
Watering plants.

6-10 Year Old's

At this age, I started letting my boys work with an organic cleaner and handling items like the vacuum or mop. They are still too young for larger tasks, but can easily take on chores that may require a longer attention span. They are also tall enough to reach higher without harming themselves.

Sweeping and mopping the floors. They should be able to do a pretty good job by now.
Dusting shelves they can reach.
Cleaning animals cages and boxes this is better for children closer to 10.
Vacuuming the floor.
Cleaning kitchen counters.
Cleaning their bathroom.
Emptying the trash.
Making their beds.

11 Year Old's and Up

For children who are 11 years old and up, the list of chores is pretty open. They can reach most shelves and counters in the home, they can work with most cleaners safely and they understand more complicated instructions.

Doing dishes either by hand or in the dish washer.
Vacuuming, sweeping or mopping.
Washing, drying and folding laundry.
Light cooking for themselves at lunch.
Washing the car.
Cleaning the pool.
More intensive cleaning of their bathroom including toilets and tubs.
Mowing the lawn. At 12, I allowed my oldest to start cutting the lawn with a push mower that has a safety shut off.

Do your children do chores that aren't on the lists above? Share the chore and their ages in the comments below.

Kathleen

Kathleen is a homeschooling mom of four boys with a serious case of the Wanderlust bug. Her love of travel extends to her children, and has resulted in the family visiting 48 states to date, and traveling nearly a third of the year. She is the owner of LifeWith4Boys.com where you will find information on Family Travel, recipes, reviews, lifestyle and more.