Top 3 Chores By Age: How Can Your Child Help Around The House?

It seems that every mom you ask battles this question.  While they eagerly await the day where their children can help out around the house, it often feels like it takes more time to monitor your child while completing these chores than it would to complete it yourself.  With this list it is easy to know what chores are prefect for each age your child may go through.

Are Chores Important?

While it may seem like the reasoning behind chores is simple, there are several other aspects of development behind helping out around the house.  While your child is able to give you a hand, they are also learning the importance of picking up after themselves, being part of a team, and even fine and gross motor skills.  You should always make sure your child has mastered one chore given to them before introducing another one to their list, and make sure the list is reasonable for the age of the child.  By having your children help out around the house, you are making them part of the team, and making them feel useful.

Top Three Chores by Age

While each child is different, here are the top three chores for your child, based on their age.  This should help keep everyone's tasks, including your own, at a reasonable level.  For the full list of chores for your child, check out this blog post here. 

Chores for 2 and 3 Year Olds (all should be completed with parent supervision)

• Help clean up their play area
• Feed the pets around the house
• Take their laundry to the laundry basket

Chores for 4 and 5 Year Olds

• Set the table for dinner
• Sort the laundry by colors and help sort and fold when finished
• Clean floors with a dry mop

Chores for 6 and 7 Year Olds

• Vacuum or Mop their room
• Empty all indoor trash cans
• Put away dishes

Chores for 8-11 Year Olds

• Wash dishes
• Rake leaves
• Learn to use the washer and dryer and complete family laundry

Chores for 12 and 13 Year Olds

• Dust, vacuum, clean bathrooms, and do dishes
• Mow the lawn
• Change lightbulbs

Chores for 14 and 15 Year Olds

• Do assigned housework without prompting
• Complete yard work
• Baby sit

Chores for Ages 16+

• Responsible for earning spending money and purchasing clothes and personal items
• Prepare family meals
• Deep cleaning the household 

Don't forget to reward children when they complete these tasks, especially if they are a larger task or are struggling with the item.  A simple thank you can go a long way to help reward your child and show them that their time and effort are appreciated. You can also introduce a chore chart, starting at age 4, that will help with knowing the tasks at hand and making sure everyone is on the same page.  When everyone works together, it will make chore time seem like a breeze!

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