Most children enjoy helping their parents out with some housework every now and then, which is great; but it’s definitely hard to find a good set of age appropriate chores that our children can do on a regular basis. Having a table of kids chores helps them to gain much needed life skills, including ownership, responsibility, team work, pride and many more. So here we have gathered a great list of kids chores, sorted by age to make it a little easier for you as a parent ( because let’s face it, this parenting gig is hard enough)!

Ages 2-3

Tidy their room
Take dirty clothes to the dirty clothes basket
Place the dirty clothes into the washing machine on wash day
Put their toys away
Take rubbish to the bin
Sweep the floor with a mini broom or sweeper
Take dishes to the sink- non breakable of course!
Wipe outside of cupboards, fridge, doors and walls

Ages 4-5

All the above chores
Feed the family pet
Clean windows and glass doors
Dry dishes with supervision
Put non breakable dishes away
Make their bed
Sort colours in the laundry
Match socks
Bath the dog- with supervision
Dust
Vacuum lounges
Water the garden and pull weeds
Mop the floors- Don’t expect a perfect job
Collect the mail

Ages 6-8

All previous chores above
Collect the bins from the footpath
Wash dishes- No sharp knives
Be responsible for the pets exercise
Fold laundry under supervision
Put away laundry
Help wash the family car
Learn to cook basic meals from scratch
Answer the phone with supervision
Take inside bin out to wheelie bins
Pack away groceries
Make their own sandwiches and lunches with supervision

Ages 9-11

All above chores
Clean inside and outside of family car
Learn to work the washing machine
Peg washing on the clothesline
Take washing off the clothesline
Fold washing
Take the bin out to the footpath on collection day
Run their own shower/ bath
Take the family pet for walks up and down the street- under supervision
Clean bathroom
Clean out and wipe down inside of fridge
Pick up dog poop in the yard
Cook simple meals
Change sheets on bed
Clean toilets

Ages 12-14

All above chores
Mow the yard
Walk to the corner store for milk and bread
Take family pet on longer walks
Clean entire kitchen unsupervised
Cook meals unsupervised
Scrub bathtub and shower
Iron clothes

Ages 15 & Up

By Age 15, your children should be able to complete every task that you do. If you start while they are young and work your way through this list, then by the time they are 15 years old their chores will become a second nature to them. This will have them ready to tackle all the tough things that come along with being 15-18 years old, things like study, exams, friends, peer pressure etc. You can feel more at ease going into these years knowing you have raised a strong, independent young adult who CAN look after themselves. Now this doesn’t mean we won’t worry about them still ( do we ever really stop worrying?), but at least we will know they are ready to be trusted with all of this decisions heading their way!

Age appropriate kids chores are a great way to prepare your child for adulthood, and starting early means that your children will have the time to practice, succeed and move each task from the chore category to a second nature category by the time they reach age 15. This means they won’t need to think about how something needs be done anymore, they will do it with ease. Whether they do their chores willingly at age 15 or not is another story, but at least they know how to.