Advice on Age Appropriate Chores

Folding wash cloths and small towels also matching socks. My children and grandcchildren at that age were picking teir dishes up off the table My 2 yr. old grandson feeds the cat with supervision. and hands his dishes to me and helps put up the flatware in the drawer.

My 8 year old sets and clears the dinner table, feeds the pets, brings the recycling bin and trash cans back up to the house, helps fold some laundry (the stuff he CAN fold), helps put groceries away and helps out watching his little brother while I'm busy around the house. Most of these things are daily chores and we pay him 10 cents each time he completes one of his chores. On occasion he also helps my husband with yard work and gets paid based on the job and how helpful he is.

My children all love to spray. We use non toxic, eco friendly products that cannot harm them and they clean windows and mirrors (my daughter is 6 and she REALLY likes to clean the windows). I also let them spray the cabinets to clean them. They are each responsible for clearing their plates from the table(even my 2 year old does this) My 8 and 6 year old help with the dishes, mainly drying them. They both are responsible for their own rooms.
If you'd like any more info on non toxic cleaners visit my ____@____.com/kirstenw
Remember that if they are trying they are learning, we cannot expect them to be expert cleaners at this age, and sometimes we may have to touch up what they do! :)

I have three boys--8, 6, and 4 1/2. They all help with chores-our older ones empty the dishwasher, run the vaccuum (not great, but good enough), empty the small trash cans from throughout the house into the garage trash can, put their own laundry away, spray our glass doors and wipe them clean (we use vinegar and water, so it's safe). My youngest loves magic erasers, and uses them to wipe down doors, walls, cabinets, etc., puts away his laundry (minus the shirts), picks up his room. If you have wood floors, my kids love using our swiffer. They all feed the cats and dog, pick up their toys, bring laundry baskets to the laundry room when they're full, clear the table after meals.
We started late with my oldest, so it's usually a battle. My younger two are much more agreeable doing their chores, because they've always been expected to do them.
We set up chore charts each week and list their chores for the week. Instead of requiring them to be done each day, we say each chore needs to be done 3-4 times a week. Somedays they do lots of chores, other days, they do none. They know that by the end of the week, the charts should be filled up in order to get their allowance.

In our house the thing that has helped the MOST has been making each person responsible for their own messes - dishes, toys, mail, etc. So, the basic philosophy is to NEVER clean up messes of those capable of doing it themselves. This has been hard for me to get used to because alot of times I habitually just pick up my kids messes 1) because it is easier and more efficient than asking/nagging and 2) it gets done my way. BUT, I have learned this doesn't make for very self sufficiency down the road.
SO, I would say you are off to a good start with the chores you have your eldest doing now. For your five year old maybe she could sweep or vacuum or probably dust. She could pick up her room and make her bed (a habit I wish I had instilled in my children) and she could definitely put away her own things including loading her dirty dishes into the dishwasher.
The main thing with chores at our house is I no longer nag about them because if your chores are not done we are not going anywhere and friends will not be over. So, that helps with the kids doing their things.
Also, every Sat morning we as a family pick up.
So, sounds like you are off to a great start in teaching them the importance of everyone in the family doing their part! After all...you all live there so it shouldn't fall on one person's shoulders. : )

At 8 my daughters were unloading the dishwasher as well as cleaning their bathroom (except the toilet, they just started that this spring at age 11), making their bed, vacuuming, setting the table and dusting. Kudos to you for getting her started early. Good luck and God Bless.

You are already on your way to being a fantastic mom!! My husband had to put his foot down in our house and insist I let the children have a part in the daily work. When we began, we had 3, ages 6, 4, and 2. As many have hinted, the key here is not perfection, but participation. If you are like I was, this can be trying at times, but now those same 3 are 28, 26, and 24 and though 2 are male, even they know how to clean a bathroom, make a meal, do laundry, etc. We currently still have 4 at home and some years ago I changed the name "chores" to PLS. It has less emotional baggage attached to it : ) and stands for: Productive Life Skills. We have a rotation in which each child is responsible for a specific thing (i.e. the living room, or the dishes,) and they do that particular thing for a week, then we rotate the jobs. The focus of the daily PLS is to keep the main floor of the house clean and tidy. On Saturdays the list of jobs is longer and includes the rest of the house. Each child has their own section of responsibility and I only change these around about once or twice a year. This rotation ensures all the children learn how to thoroughly clean a bathroom or the kitchen appliances, etc. Our children all started doing their own laundry at the age of 10. If they are trained thoroughly, which can take up to several weeks, they will do a fine job. I have the policy that if they do not fold their clothes or hang them neatly, they wear them wrinkled (this is much more painful for me than for them!) I have yet to have a child wear wrinkled clothes past 7th grade. Something about peer pressure and interest in the opposite sex, I suspect....

Not sure how some of you feel about allowance but my son just turned 3 and he has a few chores he's expected to do as a part of the family; unload silverwear from dishwasher, feed dogs, pick up bedroom and clear his plate from the table. However, if he wants to earn money I give him 50cents for each of my chores he does. He will take the swiffer duster and dust anything and everything he can reach. He loves to spray and clean glass/mirrors. He will help me collect trash on trash day and take it out. His favorite chore that gets him $2 is picking up dog poop in the yard... $1 for each dog. :) I offer up the paying chores right before I do them. Sometimes he's all for it and sometimes not. Now, when he breaks something of mine, he has to pay me a $1 from his piggy bank to pay for it. It is really starting to make sense to him about things costing. Here I've gone off the subject but it has really worked out well for us.
Good Luck
J.

Depending on what you feed the dog, I would have the 5yr old feed the dog, our 2 1/2 yr old feeds our dog, we give her dry dog food he goes in and scoops out 2 cups and puts them in her bowl and brings the dog the bowl of food.

5yr old chores-keeping room clean, (feeding dog)

8yr old emptying dishwasher, keeping room clean, putting hers and her brothers laundry away after washed and folded, you can always teach the her to fold laundry as well, (we were doing laundry at a young age in our house).

If your the one that cleans the most you can always have your 8yr old daughter watching and showing her how you dust, vaccum, etc.

I am a single mother of 2 wonderful children ages 12 (boy) and 14 (girl). It has been just the 3 of us since I was pregnant with my second. Of course, as soon as they were able to help, I taught them. It started with what we called the '10 second tidy' from a kids show about 14 years ago called "The Big Comfy Couch". We use to turn on some music and when I said '10 second tidy' that meant that they needed to quickly put away as much as they could of their toys in those 10 seconds and then we were back at whatever we were doing. It felt like a game and they loved it. Then by the time my kids were about 3 they started helping with putting bath towels away and helping unload the dishwasher (tuperware and pots and pans). My kids are much older now but I think because I got them involved in helping around the house at an early age, it is not a big deal now. Currently, before I leave for work, I write my kids a short note letting them know what they need to do (empty dishwasher, change the wash, take out trash, etc.) and then just tell them to be good. I make it simple and they do a great job. Yes, sometimes there are days that I come home from work and they are just starting their chores but that is okay because they still get them done.

I believe that the children who are taught chores at an early age become much more responsible teenagers and adults.

GOOD LUCK WITH THIS..........it is a great thing to start!!!!

Mine are too young really to help yet but my nieces who are ages 3-11 all help with pretty much all the chores. They vacuum, sweep, dust, feed the pets, set the table, and the older ones even help with the cooking. Obviously, some chores require more supervision then others but as long as you stick to basics, they can help you do just about anything. My 3 year old loves to use the sweep and I even had her helping me cook yesterday, she stood on a chair and stirred the soup while I supervised. She might not always get a lot accomplished but she is learning to help and that is the most important thing. Take the time to teach them the right way to do something and they can do just about anything.

I have four and five year old girls. This is the list of things they help out with..and I switch it up so it's not so boring..they enjoy doing diff chores rather than the same ones everyday.

vaccuum living room or dining room (we bought a $30 mini vac that they love to use)
scrub inside toilet with toilet wand once a week(they beg to do this)
empty bathroom trash and replace bag
wipe down bathroom sinks with a wet wipe each day
seperate clothes into diff baskets based on color
fold panties or wash clothes and put clothes away

obviously, i dont make them do all of these in a day, some times they ask to do all of these because it makes them feel good to help though

my 8 yr old son keeps his room clean, puts his laundry away, takes out all the trash, loads the dishwasher, vacuums, and dusts the furniture, carries the laundry downstairs and sorts it. He has been doing chores since he was about 4 but not quite this many.

the 5 year old should be able to put silverware away--helps them learn to sort, can also learn to load the dishwasher, take out trash, vacuum floors, dust furniture, keep room clean, and put clothes away.

I have a 16 yr old son, 13 year old daughter, and 8 year old son and all 3 of them have done chores since they were little. My oldest is a clean freak and when he was 1 1/2 years old he would put his toys away neatly on the shelves and if I put them in the wrong place-he would go back to the shelf and put it back where he wanted it. He is very neat and organized. The boys share a room and both of them do real well to keep their room clean and organized and are very good to help. They don't have to be told twice to do something when asked.
My daughter--well she is good at cleaning when she wants to and will take everything out of her room to clean it and reorganize it so it will take her hours when we ask her to clean her room because when she cleans, she doesn't have shortcuts and takes her forever to get it done but it does look great when she is done, she just doesn't like to do the daily tidying up to keep whatever she organized and cleaned to look that way all the time but when her room gets too cluttered then she will really get it organized. She prefers to do laundry over dishes but usually has to take turns with the boys on those chores.

I think the earlier you get your kids to do some type of chores the easier it is to get them to help out when they are older. We usually type out a chore list each day and change the chores around so each person doesn't get stuck with the same chore everyday and get burned out on it.

Example

16 yr old... clean a bathroom, do dishes,

13 yr old... clean a bathroom, vacuum upstairs

8 yr old.. vacuum downstairs, carry down laundry and sort it,

next day

16 yr old... mow lawn, cook dinner

13 yr old... sweep and mop kitchen floor, carry down laundry and sort it.

8 yr old... dishes, take out trash

Everyone is expected to keep their rooms clean and we have a chore chart where they earn money but they do not get paid to clean their rooms, that is their area and is expected to be picked up daily and if I have to clean their rooms then I take money off their chores and they have to pay me to clean their rooms.

We all work together and don't have a big house so it is hard to keep the house decluttered as we all have very busy lives and are not home that often so it takes a lot of teamwork to keep the house clean and laundry done.

daily chores usually are taking laundry downstairs and sorting it as with a family of 5 we have a basket full everyday, taking out trash, washing dishes, cooking dinner on days we don't eat out which the teenagers can cook about everything we can and the 8 yr old loves to help out with cooking but his cooking night is usually when I am cooking and he helps. He can stir hamburger, cook mac and cheese, put veggies in the microwave,use the can opener and open any cans we may need, and easy stuff like that.
All 3 of them can peel potatoes.

Chores is just a way of life and the earlier they learn the easier it is on everyone and will help them in life when they get older and work a job.

I have been washing dishes since I was 5 and we didn't have a dishwasher, helping mow a huge yard since I was 6 or 7 which I loved doing as I preferred the outside chores when I was growing up over doing dishes or laundry and did other chores at a young age as well.
My brothers and I are all hard workers and enjoy helping people and I enjoy serving and being the hostess type person.

My 16 yr old works a job and the managers love him because he always looks for things to do and doesn't have to be told everything to do and keeps himself busy. He also mows a few lawns and does a professional job with trimming and edging, mowing, and blowing the grass off the sidewalks and driveways when he is done.

We don't argue about chores, the kids know it is part of life and just doing a few things a day keeps us from spending hours on our day off to get the house clean so they have learned just doing a little each day doesn't take that long and the house doesn't get that dirty. I will say that our house is very lived in and not spotless but is presentable and not embarrasing if someone just drops by.

Good Morning J., I let our 3 yr old gr son vac up his messes with a small shark vacuum, looks like a normal vac with a handle that can be short or long. Sometimes I think he does it on purpose to use the Vac. ;) He uses his Vac while I use the normal sized one. He can also empty the small office & bathroom trash can's.

I think your 8 yr old could dust a few items without to much trouble. Helping to sort laundry, both could help with this task. If you took the wet cloths out hand them to your little one she could put them in the drier. Corbin loves doing that.
Whatever you decide to have them help with make it fun for all of you. Nothing is fun when it feels like Work :)

God Bless, have a great weeekend
K. Nana of 5

Hi, J.!
There is a great book called Life Skills for Kids that has a fantastic chart for age appropriate chores. I can't locate my copy right now, but I can tell you that the whole book is helpful.
I did find a similar list at this website.
http://housekeeping.about.com/od/chorechart1/a/ageapprcho...
Good luck to you!

My 7.5 y/o makes his bed, I sort his clothes, and he puts them away, he also takes care of his Guinea Pig, and helps clear the table etc... as well. He's also a big help with his 2y/o brother, which is wonderful when I need him occupied so I can do something! You know your kids best and what they are capeable of ; ) Picking up toys is always handy too! LOL

My two older boys are 7 & 9 and the 9 yr old empties the dishwasher and the 7 year old folds the towels. They put their laundry away (not always) and they sweep (dry mop or hand vac) the kitchen floor and add trash liners to the kitchen trash can. My 3½ yr old daughter brings all the trash cans throughout the house in for my husband to empty and she returns them all to their rooms. They all clean the living room (I have a 1½ yr old who messes it up nicely!) and they clean their room and TRY to make their beds. I know I need to have them do more. However, my husband puts them to work outside. We live on 6 acres and they help with wood gathering and picking up sticks and other maintanance.

My boys have had these chores for a year or two now so they started younger so keep that in mind.
Children Need Chores! It gives them Character and it keeps them involved in the Family Responsibilites!
Good Luck & God Bless!
C. R.

I have my 7.5 yr old wash dishes, put dishes away, sweep floor, clear and wipe down table after meals,vacumn, take out bathroom trash, and then little odd and ends. So I'm sure your 8 year old could so a lot of those type things. Now the 5 yr old will have difficulty handling the vaccumn (my 6yr old does) Have your 5 yr old help load,unload the dishwasher, wipe down the table, sweep the floor (even though you may have to go over it again...at least she's contribuiting) Dusting is alwasy fun at this age! :-) She can do almost everything the 8yr old can. I have all my girls rotate the chores so they don't get overwhelmed doing the same thing all the time. Having 4 girls they have only 1 chore to do after dinner! It makes cleanup a snap!!! It helps having a system in place knowing who does what chore each week. Hope this helps with a few ideas.

Well I don't have any girls but have four boys and I can tell you some of the things my boys help me with. My oldest will be six in aug.,one will be four in sep. and a 2 year old. My the two oldest take turns feeding and watering the dog. They pick up their toys,help me when I call them during eating times. Getting things out of the fridge for me,getting silverware and then taking their plates to the kitchen when they are done. I just started having my 5 year old help wash dishes and he loved it! They are learning to clean their own room,make sure all their toys are in their room not spread out through the house. At times I will have one of them hold my youngest 6month old or just sit with him and talk to him if I need to get something done and he wants attention. My 5 year old starts bath water for me and is learning to pick up his mess after he takes a bath. I have them get diapers for me. My oldest there like to run the light weight vaccum so I'll have them do the living room carpet. My oldest also takes out the compost for me about every two or three days. There are so many things that you can have them do that doesn't take long. I explain that they are a part of the family and that it isn't fair that they make mess's and I have to clean up after them. And that they wouldn't want me to make a mess and then make them clean it up all the time would they? They always say "NO" of course. I have even had my oldest once take out the wet cloths and put them in the dryer. He thought he was a big boy. I haven't done it since but doesn't hurt. I have them help me when we do yard work. Picking up branchs etc. You can find ways to make it fun not just work. I have a friend that was teaching her 7 year old how to do laundry and she said her daughter loved it. Make things fun not just a chore if you can. You will be amazed at what they can do. My boys don't even think about it they know that they help as part of the family. Not saying they don't complain but especially at first but after time of consistant instruction or just doing what they are told they don't say much about it. I hope this helped at least a little!

Household Job Participation Chart

The chart lists common household tasks, the percentage of children involved with the task, and the average age of children at different levels of involvement.

Symbols:
H means the child needs help with the task
R means the child needs to reminding or supervision, and
A means the child does a task as needed without reminding or supervision.

Task / Percent(children involved)
Dress self 99%
Brush Teeth 99%
Bathe self 99%
Pick up belongings 99%
Put dirty clothes away 99%
Hang up clean clothes 97%
Make bed 93%
Tidy room 98%

Wipe spills 93%
Vacuum floors 79%
Clean sink 75%

Take out trash 72%
Care for pet 72%
Do laundry 54%

Set table 93%
Wash dishes 75%
Fix snack 89%
Cook meal 71%

Age & Involvement:

Dress self: Age 2-3(H)
Age 5 (R)
Age 10-1/2 (A)

Brush teeth: Age 3(H)
Age 8-9(R)
Age 10-11 (A)

Bathe self: Age 3 (H)
Age 7 (R)
Age 11-12 (A)

Pick up belongings: Age 4 (H)
Age 8-9 (R)
Age 12 (A)

Pick up dirty clothes: Age 4-5 (H)
Age 8-9 (R)
Age 11-12 (A)

Hang up clean clothes: Age 4-5 (H)
Age 10 (R)
Age 12 (A)

Make bed: Age 4 1/2-5 (H)
Age 10 (R)
Age 11 1/2 (A)

Tidy room: Age 5 (H)
Age 11 1/2 (R)
Age 12-13 (A)

Wipe spills: Age 3 1/2 (H)
Age 9 (R)
Age 10 1/2 (A)

Vacuum Floors: Age 5 1/2 (H)
Age 11 3/4 (A)
Age 12 3/4 (R*)

Clean sink: Age 6 1/2 (H)
Age 11 (A)
Age 12 (R*)

Take out trash: Age 5 1/2 (H)
Age 11 1/2 (A)
Age 12 1/2 (R*)

Care for pet: Age 5 (H)
Age 10(R)
Age 11 1/2 (A)

Do laundry: Age 10 (H)
Age 13 (R-/A) 14yr, 4 mos.

Set table: Age 4 (H)
Age 10-10 1/2 (R)
Age 11 1/2-12 (A)

Wash dishes: Age 6- 6 1/2 (H)
Age 10 1/2 (R)
Age 11 1/2 (A)

Fix snack: Age 4- 4 1/2 (H)
Age 7 1/2 (R)
Age 12 (A)

Cook meal: Age 7 (H)
Age 9-9 1/2 (R)
Age 13 (A)

Data from a study of Washing state families by Elizabeth Crary, 1989

*Children require supervision again after becoming independent

From: Pick Up Your Socks...and other skills growing children need! by Elizabeth Crary Reprinted with permission. (c)1990 Elizabeth Crary

NOTE: Be sure when children are initially learning that you (as the parent)are teaching your child the correct way in detail and then make sure you don't set too high of expectations for standards. Remember that you may need to lower standards of cleaning (on some level) down to your child's age. They may not clean or cook as well as you do. It's a learning process...

Hope this helps.
A. H.

My 5 year old daughter has a chore everyday just like her older brother.Anyway,she vaccuums the LR rug,cleans the table for dinner,empty's the bathroom trash,and helps fold and put away her laundry.Hope this helps!

What a great mom to be thinking about chores for children. Research has shown that responsbility for children is an important way to build self-confidence. Your 5 year old should be able to help fold clothes (towels, kitchen towels, etc.). They both should be able to make their beds. Just remember it may not be to "your" liking as they are beginning, but be sure to compliment them on the "effort." They should also be able to assist in setting the table for meals and clearing the table. It is important that you model how to do those chores so they know how to gage success. Just a few ideas. You might set up a chore chart that changes from week to week so they don't get bored with the same chore. I have more, but don't want to overwhelm you at first.
I am a preschool director. Children can often do more than their parents think they can and they love feeling like they contribute to the whole.

I have an 8 and 6 yr old. We have not started weekly chores yet, but we keep talking about it. Maybe today is the day to start that. I do know what my girls are capable of doing though. Some suggestions for chores would be: watering plants weekly, taking trash out, folding towels and putting them away, folding their own clothes and putting them away. You can buy some non-toxic cleaner like 7th Generation and have them clean bathrooms, or do some dusting. They can wash dishes, set the table. My goal is to sit down with the whole family, talk about the chores we wish them to do and divvy them up. Maybe switch them off monthly. They get a set amount of commission weekly, but also have "debits" they can get if they don't do things they are supposed to do that are not on their chore list that we "just do because we are a family". Things like make their beds, clean up their rooms, help pick up sticks in the yard before we mow the lawn etc... And also if they don't do their chores, they don't get money for them. If their brother/sister decides to do the chore instead, they get the $ for it. My ideas have come from 2 sources: Dave Ramsey; and Dr. Kevin Lehman's book Making Children Mind without Losing Yours. Answering your question has inspired me to get this done myself and get it done today!

This is a list of the chores that my 9 year old stepson does at our house:

Vacuuming and/or dusting (we alternate these)
Taking out the trash
Making his bed and keeping his room clean

Those are the basics but we occasionally ask him to unload the dishwasher, etc. I made a chore chart with these things so he can mark off when he does them. He gets an allowance for doing this stuff. The chart helps keep him accountable. If he doesn't do the chores, he doesn't get the allowance. I think it teaches him a good lesson. He's done well with it so far.

Good luck!

My 5 year old is responsible for cleaning own room, attempting to make bed, taking clothes to correct room after I have folded them and dumping the bathroom trash cans. My daughter at 8 was responsible for the unloading the dishwasher(I removed sharp objects first), room, helping to fold laundry and some dusting. One major rule in our home is if you see someone working, offer to help. You may not sit and watch someone else work, that's not very loving. Make sure to use a chart so they can remember what to do, for the little one, cut out pictures or take photos of them doing it since they probably can't read yet.

Good luck,
D.

Hi J.. I'm a mom of a 19 year old and a 23 year old. Both boys. I would think you could have your 5 year old go around the house and empty the waste baskets out of the bathrooms and bedrooms and any other place you may have them in your home. Do you have her making her own bed yet? I know from experience that their bed doesn't look too neat after they try it,but after a while it does get better. She maybe could bring down her dirty laundry to be washed. These are just a few thoughts I thought you could try. Good Luck in whatever you decide. K. P.

My son always helped me out when he started to walk he would help me pick up toys now that he is older I can tell him that his toys need to be picked up and he has 5 min to do it etc.I have set up a chore chart this includes Teeth brushing but I always help him, make his bed,no back talk well not exactly a chore,and help mom when asked.Yes chores are good for children of all ages it makes them fell good about themselves and it builds their confidence levels

I have 5 and 7 year old girls. The 7 year old brings up the laundry, takes out bathroom trash and cleans up her things \ makes her bed each morning. Once a week she is responsible for cleaning one of our bathrooms. Mind you, I don't let her handle the "chemicals" although she scrubs with them and rinses them. She loves to be in charge of the bleach water bottle (homemade) to wash walls and floor (and whereever she'd like!). The five year old helps put laundry in the dryer and load the washer each day, pick up her things and make her bed. She LOVES to help her sister in the bathroom when she'll let her! Certainly, they help out with other things when asked but those are "their" responsibilities. OH - and they are to brush their teeth each morning - believe it or not this is our hardest one!!! It had to be put on the chore list because it is SUCH A CHORE! :( :) Hope this helps!

I think that is great have them start young and that teaches them many things including family unity. everyone has to pitch in. Then later in life she has a handle on it. I think collecting small trash cans and folding small hand towels and wash cloths while sitting with you while you do the bigger ones. My girls would take them from the basket and sit and watch TV. Dusting furniture from her level in one room perhaps. setting the table or helping with dinner. Awesome parenting. Good Luck